Fondazione Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT – IT)

Manuel G. Catalano is a Researcher in IIT under the research line SoftRobotics for Human Cooperation and Rehabilitation. He is also Research Fellow at Centro di Ricerca E. Piaggio – University of Pisa, and at MayoClinic, Rochester, USA. He received the Laurea degree in Mechanical Engineering and the Doctoral degree in Robotics and Bioengineering from the E. Piaggio Research Center at the University of Pisa.

He  is Principal Investigator of the EU Project “Reconcycle” and coordinates the activities of the “JoIInt Lab” in Bergamo, a technology transfer collaboration between IIT and Intellimech, a consortium of Medium and Big Mechatronic Enterprises.

Giorgio Grioli received the Ph.D. degree in robotics, automation, and bio-engineering from the University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy, in 2011, with a thesis on identification for control of variable impedance actuators. Since 2023, he has been a Senior Researcher with the University of Pisa, where he co-teaches “robot control” for the “robotic and automation engineering” masters’ degree course and “automatic controls” for the “vehicle engineering” masters’ degree course.

Do Won Park received the B.Sc. degree in bioengineering and the M.Sc. degree in robotics and automation engineering from the University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy, in 2017 and 2021, respectively. In his master’s thesis, he investigated grasp planning algorithms for robots equipped with anthropomorphic robotic hands. After completing his studies, he worked for three years at a multinational company in the industrial automation machinery sector. However, his passion for advanced research led him to leave the company to focus on academic and research pursuits.

He is currently a Research Fellow with the Research Center “E. Piaggio” at the University of Pisa and is awaiting the start of his Ph.D. program with the Italian Institute of Technology.

Arianna Traviglia is the Coordinator of the Centre for Cultural Heritage Technology (CCHT), a center of the Italian Institute of Technology (IIT). Her work is scientifically positioned at the intersection of technology and the humanities, with a research focus on integrating digital and robotic practices into the analysis, protection, and management of cultural heritage. At the CCHT, she oversees research in the fields of robotics, artificial intelligence, computer vision, and nanotechnologies applied to archaeological and artistic assets. Some of the most exciting global applications of robotic automation in the cultural heritage field are emerging from this center.

Nikos G. Tsagarakis is Tenured Senior Scientist and Principal Investigator of the Humanoid & Human Centred Mechatronics (HHCM) Research Line, a leading research laboratory at IIT with strong expertise in robot design, modelling and control, and in the development of new mechatronics components (actuation and sensing). HHCM  is the home laboratory where the compliant humanoids COMAN, WALK-MAN, COMAN+, the CENTAURO hybrid wheeled-legged quadrupedal manipulation platform,  the  Multi-arm Installation Robot for Readying ORUs and Reflectors (MIRROR)  robotic in-orbit servicing platform and the CONCERT Configurable Mobile manipulation robot have been developed. He was the coordinator of EU project WALKMAN and he is currently the coordinator of EU project CONCERT. He has also served as principal investigator for several EU projects in the past including VIACTORS, SAPHARI, AMARSI, WEARHAP, CogiMON, CENTAURO, EUROBENCH and most recently for euROBIN, REPAIR, HARIA and MAGICIAN. He is an author or co-author of over 450 papers in research journals and at international conferences and holds 16 patents.