@article {4083, title = {Evaluation of a Simultaneous Myoelectric Control Strategy for a Multi-DoF Transradial Prosthesis}, year = {2020}, author = {C. Piazza and M. Rossi and M. G. Catalano and A. Bicchi and L. Hargrove} } @article {4085, title = {Exploring augmented grasping capabilities in a multi-synergistic soft bionic hand}, journal = {Journal of NeuroEngineering and Rehabilitation}, volume = {17}, year = {2020}, chapter = {116}, doi = {https://doi.org/10.1186/s12984-020-00741-y}, url = {https://jneuroengrehab.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12984-020-00741-y$\#$article-info}, author = {C. Piazza and A. M. Simon and K. L. Turner and L. A. Miller and M. G. Catalano and A. Bicchi and L. Hargrove} } @article {4079, title = {Exploring Stiffness Modulation in Prosthetic Hands and Its Perceived Function in Manipulation and Social Interaction.}, journal = {Frontiers in Neurorobotics}, volume = {14}, year = {2020}, month = {06/2020}, abstract = {

To physically interact with a rich variety of environments and to match situation-dependent requirements, humans adapt both the force and stiffness of their limbs. Reflecting this behavior in prostheses may promote a more natural and intuitive control and, consequently, improve prostheses acceptance in everyday life. This pilot study proposes a method to control a prosthetic robot hand and its impedance, and explores the utility of variable stiffness when performing activities of daily living and physical social interactions. The proposed method is capable of a simultaneous and proportional decoding of position and stiffness intentions from two surface electro-myographic sensors placed over a pair of antagonistic muscles. The feasibility of our approach is validated and compared to existing control modalities in a preliminary study involving one prosthesis user. The algorithm is implemented in a soft under-actuated prosthetic hand (SoftHand Pro). Then, we evaluate the usability of the proposed approach while executing a variety of tasks. Among these tasks, the user interacts with other 12 able-bodied subjects, whose experiences were also assessed. Several statistically significant aspects from the System Usability Scale indicate user{\textquoteright}s preference of variable stiffness control over low or high constant stiffness due to its reactivity and adaptability. Feedback reported by able-bodied subjects reveal a general tendency to favor soft interaction, i.e., low stiffness, which is perceived more human-like and comfortable. These combined results suggest the use of variable stiffness as a viable compromise between firm control and safe interaction which is worth investigating further.

}, keywords = {human-robot social interaction, impedance control, prosthetics, Soft robotics, task adaptability}, doi = {10.3389/fnbot.2020.00033}, url = {https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnbot.2020.00033/full?\&utm_source=Email_to_authors_\&utm_medium=Email\&utm_content=T1_11.5e1_author\&utm_campaign=Email_publication\&field=\&journalName=Frontiers_in_Neurorobotics\&id=503842}, author = {Capsi-Morales, Patricia and C. Piazza and M. G. Catalano and A. Bicchi and G. Grioli} } @article {4081, title = {Exploring the Role of Palm Concavity and Adaptability in Soft Synergistic Robotic Hands}, journal = { IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters }, volume = {5}, year = {2020}, month = {17 June 2020}, pages = {4703 - 4710}, chapter = {4703}, abstract = {

Robotic hand engineers usually focus on finger capabilities, often disregarding the palm contribution. Inspired by human anatomy, this paper explores the advantages of including a flexible concave palm into the design of a robotic hand actuated by soft synergies. We analyse how the inclusion of an articulated palm improves finger workspace and manipulability. We propose a mechanical design of a modular palm with two elastic rolling-contact palmar joints, that can be integrated on the Pisa/IIT SoftHand, without introducing additional motors. With this prototype, we evaluate experimentally the grasping capabilities of a robotic palm. We compare its performance to that of the same robotic hand with the palm fixed, and to that of a human hand. To assess the effective grasp quality achieved by the three systems, we measure the contact area using paint-transfer patterns in different grasping actions. Preliminary grasping experiments show a closer resemblance of the soft-palm robotic hand to the human hand. Results evidence a higher adaptive capability and a larger involvement of all fingers in grasping.

}, keywords = {Ellipsoids, Grasping, Indexes, Kinematics, Robots, Shape, Thumb}, issn = { 2377-3766}, doi = {10.1109/LRA.2020.3003257}, url = {https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/9119822?source=authoralert}, author = {Capsi-Morales, Patricia and G. Grioli and C. Piazza and A. Bicchi and M. G. Catalano} } @article {3640, title = {Exact Task Execution in Highly Under-Actuated Soft Limbs: An Operational Space Based Approach}, journal = {IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters}, volume = {Volume: 4 , Issue: 3 , July 2019}, year = {2019}, month = {04/2019}, author = {C. Della Santina and L. Pallottino and D. Rus and A. Bicchi} } @conference {3721, title = {EEG Complexity Maps to Characterise Brain Dynamics during Upper Limb Motor Imagery}, booktitle = { Proceedings of the Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society, EMBS}, year = {2018}, doi = { 10.1109/EMBC.2018.8512912}, url = { https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/8512912}, author = {V. Catambrone and A. Greco and G. Averta and M. Bianchi and A. Bicchi and E. P. Scilingo and G. Valenza} } @conference {3722, title = {EEG Processing to Discriminate Transitive-Intransitive Motor Imagery Tasks: Preliminary Evidences using Support Vector Machines}, booktitle = {Proceedings of the Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society, EMBS}, year = {2018}, doi = {10.1109/EMBC.2018.8512239}, url = {https://zenodo.org/record/2559406$\#$.XTbl43ux9GM}, author = {V. Catrambone and A. Greco and G. Averta and M. Bianchi and N. Vanello and A. Bicchi and G. Valenza and E. P. Scilingo} } @article {3364, title = {Efficient Walking Gait Generation via Principal Component Representation of Optimal Trajectories: Application to a Planar Biped Robot With Elastic Joints}, journal = {IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters}, volume = {3}, year = {2018}, pages = {2299{\textendash}2306}, abstract = {

Recently, the method of choice to exploit robot dynamics for efficient walking is numerical optimization (NO). The main drawback in NO is the computational complexity, which strongly affects the time demand of the solution. Several strategies can be used to make the optimization more treatable and to efficiently describe the solution set. In this letter, we present an algorithm to encode effective walking references, generated offline via numerical optimization, extracting a limited number of principal components and using them as a basis of optimal motions. By combining these components, a good approximation of the optimal gaits can be generated at run time. The advantages of the presented approach are discussed, and an extensive experimental validation is carried out on a planar legged robot with elastic joints. The biped thus controlled is able to start and stop walking on a treadmill, and to control its speed dynamically as the treadmill speed changes.

}, author = {G M Gasparri and S. Manara and D. Caporale and G. Averta and M. Bonilla and H. Marino and M. G. Catalano and G. Grioli and M. Bianchi and A. Bicchi and M. Garabini} } @conference {3723, title = {ExoSense: Measuring Manipulation in a Wearable Manner}, booktitle = {Proceedings - IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation}, year = {2018}, doi = {10.1109/ICRA.2018.8460498}, author = {E. Battaglia and M. G. Catalano and G. Grioli and M. Bianchi and A. Bicchi} } @article {3214, title = { Enhancing Adaptive Grasping Through a Simple Sensor-Based Reflex Mechanism }, journal = {IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters}, volume = {2}, year = {2017}, month = {07/2017}, pages = {1664 - 1671}, abstract = {

This paper presents an approach to achieve adaptive grasp of unknown objects whose position is only approximately known via point-cloud data. We exploit the adaptability of a soft robotic hand which can autonomously conform to the shape of a grasped object if properly approached. Once a grasp approach has been preliminarily planned based only on rough estimates of the object position, the hand is shaped to a pregrasp configuration. Before closing the hand, a sensor-based algorithm is applied that corrects the relative hand-object posture so as to enhance the probability that the object is uniformly approached by all fingers, thus avoiding undesired premature contacts. The algorithm minimizes the distance between the hand{\textquoteright}s fingerpads and the object by continuously controlling both the wrist pose and orientation and the hand closure. Experimental studies with a Kuka-LWR arm and a Pisa/IIT Softhand illustrate the benefit of the developed technique and the improvement in grasping performance with respect to open-loop execution of grasps planned on the basis of prior RGB-D cues only.

}, keywords = {Haptics, Robotics}, doi = {10.1109/LRA.2017.2681122}, url = {http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/7875417/}, author = {Luberto, E. and Y. Wu and G. Santaera and M Gabiccini and A. Bicchi} } @conference {3220, title = {Estimating Contact Forces from Postural Measures in a class of Under-Actuated Robotic Hands}, booktitle = {IEEE International Conference of Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS2017)}, year = {2017}, publisher = {IEEE}, organization = {IEEE}, address = {Vancouver, Canada, September 24{\textendash}28, 2017}, keywords = {Robotics}, author = {C. Della Santina and C. Piazza and G. Santaera and G. Grioli and M. G. Catalano and A. Bicchi} } @conference {2538, title = {Effect of Homogenous Object Stiffness on Tri-digit Grasp Properties}, booktitle = {37th Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society (EMBC2015)}, year = {2015}, note = {
This work is supported in part by the European Research Council under the Advanced Grant SoftHands {\textquotedblleft}A Theory of Soft Synergies for a New Generation of Artificial Hands{\textquotedblright} no. ERC-291166 and under the EU FP7 project WEARHAP {\textquotedblleft}WEARable HAPtics for Humans and Robots{\textquotedblright} no. 601165.
}, pages = {6704 - 6707}, publisher = {IEEE}, organization = {IEEE}, address = { Milano, Italy, August 25th-29th, 2015}, abstract = {
This paper presents experimental findings on how humans modulate their muscle activity while grasping objects of varying levels of compliance. We hypothesize that one of the key abilities that allows humans to successfully cope with uncertainties while grasping compliant objects is the ability to modulate muscle activity to control both grasp force and stiffness in a way that is coherent with the task. To that end, subjects were recruited to perform a grasp and lift task with a tripod-grasp device with contact surfaces of variable compliance. Subjects performed the task under four different compliance conditions while surface EMG from the main finger flexor and extensor muscles was recorded along with force and torque data at the contact points. Significant increases in the extensor muscle (the antagonist in the task) and co-contraction levels were found with increasing compliance at the contact points. These results suggest that the motor system may employ a strategy of increasing cocontraction, and thereby stiffness, to counteract the decreased stability in grasping compliant objects. Future experiments will examine the extent to which this phenomenon is also related to specific task features, such as precision versus power grasp and object weight.
}, keywords = {Haptics, Robotics}, doi = {10.1109/EMBC.2015.7319931}, url = {http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/stamp/stamp.jsp?tp=\&arnumber=7319931}, author = {S. B. Godfrey and Altobelli, A and M. Rossi and A. Bicchi} } @conference {2398, title = {Electromyographic Mapping of Finger Stiffness in Tripod Grasp: a Proof of Concept}, booktitle = {International Conference on Rehabilitation Robotics (ICORR), 2015}, year = {2015}, note = {

softhands, wearhap

}, pages = {181-186}, publisher = {IEEE}, organization = {IEEE}, address = {Singapore, 11 {\textendash} 14 August 2015}, abstract = {

Effective execution of a manipulation task using prosthetic or robotic hands requires that the motion and the impedance profiles of the\ fingers\ be appropriately commanded. This, however, brings some design and control challenges regarding the individual planning and realization of the\ finger\ motion and\ stiffnesstrajectories. It appears that the central nervous system solves for this complexity in an effective and coordinated manner which has been well-recognized under the\ concept\ of hand synergies. While the exploitation of this\ concept\ in kinematic coordinates has lead to the development of several successful robotic designs and control strategies, its extension to dynamic coordinates, such as coordinated stiffening of the\ fingers, remains to be investigated. Indeed, in this study we provide preliminary evidence on the existence of such coordinated stiffening patterns in human\ fingers\ and establish initial steps towards a real-time and effective modelling of the\ fingerstiffness\ in a\ tripodgrasp. To achieve this goal, the endpoint\ stiffness\ of the thumb, index and middle\ fingers\ of five healthy subjects are experimentally identified and correlated with the electromyography (EMG) signals recorded from a dominant antagonistic pair of the forearm muscles. Our findings suggest that: i) the magnitude of thestiffness\ ellipses at the fingertips grows in a coordinated way, subsequent to the co-contraction of the forearm muscles; ii) the length of the ellipses{\textquoteright} axes appears to have a nearly linear relationship with the co-contraction level of the antagonistic muscle pair.

}, keywords = {Haptics, Robotics}, doi = {10.1109/ICORR.2015.7281196}, url = {http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/stamp/stamp.jsp?tp=\&arnumber=7281196}, author = {M. Rossi and Altobelli, A and S. B. Godfrey and A. Ajoudani and A. Bicchi} } @article {2207, title = {Epsilon{\textendash}optimal synthesis for vehicles with vertically bounded Field-Of-View}, journal = {IEEE Transactions on Automatic Control}, volume = {60}, year = {2015}, pages = {1204 - 1218}, abstract = {

This paper presents a contribution to the problem of obtaining an optimal synthesis for shortest paths for a unicycle guided by an on{\textendash}board limited Field Of{\textendash}View (FOV) sensor, which must keep a given landmark in sight. Previous works on this subject have provided an optimal synthesis for the case in which the FOV is limited in the horizontal directions (H{\textendash} FOV, i.e. left and right boundaries). In this paper we study the complementary case in which the FOV is limited only in the vertical direction (V{\textendash}FOV, i.e. upper and lower boundaries). With respect to the H{\textendash}FOV case, the vertical limitation is all but a simple extension. Indeed, not only the geometry of extremal arcs is different, but also a more complex structure of the synthesis is revealed by analysis. We will indeed show that there exist initial configurations for which the optimal path does not exist. In such cases, we provide an e{\textendash}optimal path whose length approximates arbitrarily well any other shorter path. Finally, we provide a partition of the motion plane in regions such that the optimal or e{\textendash}optimal path from each point in that region is univocally determined.

}, keywords = {Embedded Control, Robotics}, issn = {0018-9286}, doi = {10.1109/TAC.2014.2366271}, author = {Salaris, P. and Cristofaro, A. and L. Pallottino and A. Bicchi} } @conference {2233, title = {Exploiting hand kinematic synergies and wearable under-sensing for hand functional grasp recognition}, booktitle = { 4th International Conference on Wireless Mobile Communication and Healthcare - "Transforming healthcare through innovations in mobile and wireless technologies" }, year = {2014}, address = {November 3{\textendash}5, 2014 Athens, Greece}, keywords = {Haptics, Robotics}, doi = { http://dx.doi.org/10.4108/icst.mobihealth.2014.257228}, author = {M. Bianchi and N. Carbonaro and E. Battaglia and F. Lorussi and A. Bicchi and D. De Rossi and A. Tognetti} } @conference {2081, title = {Exploring haptic feedback for the Pisa/IIT SoftHand}, booktitle = {Haptics Symposium (HAPTICS), 2014 IEEE}, year = {2014}, address = {Houston, TX}, keywords = {Haptics, Robotics}, doi = {10.1109/HAPTICS.2014.6775572}, author = {S. B. Godfrey and A. Ajoudani and M. Bianchi and M. G. Catalano and G. Grioli and A. Bicchi} } @article {1668, title = {Exploring Teleimpedance and Tactile Feedback for Intuitive Control of the Pisa/IIT SoftHand}, journal = { IEEE Transactions on Haptics}, volume = {7}, year = {2014}, pages = {203 - 215}, keywords = {Haptics, Robotics}, doi = {10.1109/TOH.2014.2309142 }, url = {http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/stamp/stamp.jsp?tp=\&arnumber=6755554}, author = {A. Ajoudani and S. B. Godfrey and M. G. Catalano and M. Bianchi and G. Grioli and N G Tsagarakis and A. Bicchi} } @article {GCB11, title = {Exploiting Packet Size in Uncertain Nonlinear Networked Control Systems}, journal = {Automatica}, volume = {48}, year = {2012}, pages = {2801 - 2811}, keywords = {Robotics}, author = {L. Greco and A. Chaillet and A. Bicchi} } @conference {VSB11, title = {Embodying Desired Behavior in Variable Stiffness Actuators}, booktitle = {2011 Congress of the International Federation of Automatic Control - IFAC 2011}, year = {2011}, month = {August 28 - Sept}, pages = {9733 - 9738}, address = {Milano, italy}, keywords = {Robotics}, author = {L. C. Visser and S. Stramigioli and A. Bicchi} } @conference {GCB11, title = {Exploiting Packet Size in Uncertain Nonlinear Networked Control Systems}, booktitle = {2011 Congress of the International Federation of Automatic Control - IFAC 2011}, year = {2011}, month = {August 28 - Sept}, pages = {14404 - 14409}, address = {Milano, italy}, keywords = {Embedded Control, Robotics}, author = {L. Greco and A. Chaillet and A. Bicchi} } @article {BHM07, title = {The Effect of Visual Experience on the Development of Functional Architecture in hMT+}, journal = {Cerebral Cortex}, volume = {17}, number = {12}, year = {2007}, note = {

[Epub ahead of print]

}, month = {March 19}, pages = {2933 - 2939}, publisher = {Oxford University Press}, abstract = {

We investigated whether the visual hMT+ cortex plays a role in supramodal representation of sensory flow, not mediated by visual mental imagery. We used functional magnetic resonance imaging to measure neural activity in sighted and congenitally blind individuals during passive perception of optic and tactile flows. Visual motion-responsive cortex, including hMT+, was identified in the lateral occipital and inferior temporal cortices of the sighted subjects by response to optic flow. Tactile flow perception in sighted subjects activated the more anterior part of these cortical regions but deactivated the more posterior part. By contrast, perception of tactile flow in blind subjects activated the full extent, including the more posterior part. These results demonstrate that activation of hMT+ and surrounding cortex by tactile flow is not mediated by visual mental imagery and that the functional organization of hMT+ can develop to subserve tactile flow perception in the absence of any visual experience. Moreover, visual experience leads to a segregation of the motion-responsive occipitotemporal cortex into an anterior subregion involved in the representation of both optic and tactile flows and a posterior subregion that processes optic flow only.

}, keywords = {Haptics}, author = {E. Ricciardi and N. Vanello and L. Sani and C. Gentili and E. P. Scilingo and L. Landini and M. Guazzelli and A. Bicchi and J. V. Haxby and P. Pietrini} } @inbook {HCVRSGSPPLB07, title = {Electrocutaneous stimulation of skin mechanoreceptors for tactile studies with functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging}, booktitle = {Encyclopedia of Healthcare Information Systems}, year = {2007}, pages = {497 - 503}, publisher = {Medical Information Science}, organization = {Medical Information Science}, keywords = {Haptics}, author = {V. Hartwig and C. Cappelli and N. Vanello and E. Ricciardi and E. P. Scilingo and G. Giovannetti and M. F. Santarelli and V. Positano and A. Bicchi and P. Pietrini and L. Landini} } @article {RSSRB07, title = {Electromagnetic Modeling and Design of Haptic Interfaces Prototypes Based on MagnetoRheological Fluids}, journal = {IEEE Transactions on Magnetics}, volume = {43}, number = {9-1}, year = {2007}, pages = {3586-3600}, abstract = {

This paper deals with design and implementation of innovative haptic interfaces based on Magnetorheological fluids (MRFs). This pioneering research work consists in developing 2D and quasi-3D MRF-based devices capable of suitably energizing the fluid with a magnetic field in order to build figures which can be directly squeezed by hands. These devices are able to properly create a distribution of magnetic field over time and space inducing the fluid to assume desired shape and compliance. We implemented different prototypes whose synthesis and design phase, here described in detail, was prepared by preliminary simulations obtained by means of software based on a 3D Finite Element code. In this way, both magnetic field and shear stress profiles inside the fluid can be carefully predicted. Finally, performance of these devices was evaluated and assessed.

}, keywords = {Haptics}, author = {R. Rizzo and N. Sgambelluri and E. P. Scilingo and M. Raugi and A. Bicchi} } @conference {LJB07, title = {An experimental study of exploiting multipath fading for robot communications}, booktitle = {Proceedings of Robotics: Science and Systems}, year = {2007}, month = {June}, address = {Atlanta, GA, USA}, abstract = {

A simple approach for mobile robots to exploit multipath fading in order to improve received radio signal strength (RSS), is presented. The strategy is to sample the RSS at discrete points, without deviating too far from the desired position. We first solve the problem of how many samples are needed for given communications performance and how they should be spaced. Second, we propose a circular and a grid trajectory for sampling and give lower bounds on how many samples they will yield. Third, we estimate the parameters of our strategy from measurements. Finally we demonstrate the validity of our analysis through experiments.

}, keywords = {Robotics}, author = {M. Lindh{\`e} and K. H. Johansson and A. Bicchi} } @conference {BMP03, title = {Encoding steering control with symbols}, booktitle = {Proc. IEEE Int. Conf. on Decision and Control}, year = {2003}, pages = {3343-3348}, abstract = {

In this paper, we consider the problem of steering complex dynamical systems among equilibria in their state space in efficient ways. Efficiency is considered as the possibility of compactly representing the (typically very large, or infinite) set of reachable equilibria and quickly computing plans to move among them. To this purpose, we consider the possibility of building lattice structures by purposefully introducing quantization of inputs. We consider different ways in which control actions can be encoded in a finite or numerable set of symbols, review different applications where symbolic encoding of control actions can be employed with success, and provide a unified framework in which to study the many different possible manifestations of the idea.

}, keywords = {Embedded Control, Robotics}, author = {A. Bicchi and A. Marigo and B. Piccoli} } @article {BA02, title = {Editorial for the Special Issue on Nonholonomy on Purpose}, journal = {Int. Jour. of Robotics Research}, volume = {21}, number = {5-6}, year = {2002}, month = {May-June}, pages = {387-388}, keywords = {Robotics}, author = {A. Bicchi and H. Arai} } @inbook {BSDR00, title = {Experimental Validation of a Psychophysical Conjecture on a Simplified Model of the Haptic Perceptual Channel}, booktitle = {Robotics Research IX}, year = {2000}, publisher = {Springer-Verlag}, organization = {Springer-Verlag}, keywords = {Haptics, Robotics}, author = {A. Bicchi and E. P. Scilingo and D. De Rossi} } @inbook {B99, title = {An experimental study of performance and fault tolerance of a hybrid free-flight control scheme}, booktitle = {Robustness in Identification and Control}, series = {LNCIS 245}, year = {1999}, pages = {449-463}, publisher = {Springer Verlag}, organization = {Springer Verlag}, address = {Berlin Heidelberg, Germany}, keywords = {Embedded Control, Robotics}, author = {A. Bicchi}, editor = {A. Garulli and A. Tesi and A. Vicino} } @conference {BBB93, title = {Efficient Parallel Algorithm for Optimal Block Decomposition of Transfer Function Matrices for Decentralized Control of Large-Scale Systems}, booktitle = {Proc. Conference on Decision and Control}, year = {1993}, keywords = {Hybrid and Embedded Control Systems, Nonlinear Control Systems}, author = {A. Balluchi and A. Balestrino and A. Bicchi} } @inbook {BSB93, title = {Experimental Evaluation of Friction Data with an Articulated Hand and Intrinsic Contact Sensors}, booktitle = {Experimental Robotics-III}, series = {LNCIS 190}, year = {1993}, publisher = {Springer Verlag}, organization = {Springer Verlag}, address = {Berlin Heidelberg, Germany}, keywords = {Haptics, Robotics}, author = {A. Bicchi and J. K. Salisbury and D. L. Brock}, editor = {R. Chatila and G. Hirzinger} }