@article {3643, title = {A Novel Skin-Stretch Haptic Device for Intuitive Control of Robotic Prostheses and Avatars}, journal = {IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters}, volume = {Volume: 4 , Issue: 2 , April 2019 }, year = {2019}, month = {01/2019}, author = {N. Colella and M. Bianchi and G. Grioli and A. Bicchi and M. G. Catalano} } @conference {3720, title = {A Novel Approach to Under-Actuated Control of Fluidic Systems}, booktitle = {2018 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA)}, year = {2018}, doi = {10.1109/ICRA.2018.8460859}, url = {http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/stamp/stamp.jsp?tp=\&arnumber=8460859\&isnumber=8460178}, author = {A. Di Lallo and M. G. Catalano and M. Garabini and G. Grioli and M. Gabiccini and A. Bicchi} } @conference {3087, title = {Noninteracting Constrained Motion Planning and Control for Robot Manipulators}, booktitle = {IEEE International Conference of Robotics and Automation, ICRA2017}, year = {2017}, pages = {4038 - 4043}, publisher = {IEEE}, organization = {IEEE}, abstract = {

In this paper we present a novel geometric approach
to motion planning for constrained robot systems.
This problem is notoriously hard, as classical sampling-based
methods do not easily apply when motion is constrained in
a zero-measure submanifold of the configuration space. Based
on results on the functional controllability theory of dynamical
systems, we obtain a description of the complementary spaces
where rigid body motions can occur, and where interaction
forces can be generated, respectively. Once this geometric setting
is established, the motion planning problem can be greatly
simplified. Indeed, we can relax the geometric constraint, i.e.,
replace the lower{\textendash}dimensional constraint manifold with a fulldimensional
boundary layer. This in turn allows us to plan
motion using state-of-the-art methods, such as RRT*, on points
within the boundary layer, which can be efficiently sampled. On
the other hand, the same geometric approach enables the design
of a completely decoupled control scheme for interaction forces,
so that they can be regulated to zero (or any other desired
value) without interacting with the motion plan execution.
A distinguishing feature of our method is that it does not
use projection of sampled points on the constraint manifold,
thus largely saving in computational time, and guaranteeing
accurate execution of the motion plan. An explanatory example
is presented, along with an experimental implementation of the
method on a bimanual manipulation workstation.

}, keywords = {Robotics}, doi = {10.1109/ICRA.2017.7989463}, url = {http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/7989463/}, author = {M. Bonilla and L. Pallottino and A. Bicchi} } @conference {2892, title = {Natural encoding of user intentions in a soft prosthesis using Dynamic Synergies}, booktitle = {International Workshop on Human-Friendly Robotics}, year = {2016}, author = {C. Piazza and C. Della Santina and M. G. Catalano and G. Grioli and M. Garabini and A. Bicchi} } @article {2627, title = {No More Heavy Lifting: Robotic Solutions to the Container Unloading Problem}, journal = {IEEE Robotics and Automation Magazine}, volume = {23}, year = {2016}, month = {08/2016}, chapter = {94}, keywords = {Robotics}, doi = {https://doi.org/10.1109/MRA.2016.2535098}, url = {https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/7553531}, author = {T. Stoyanov and N. Vaskeviciusz and C. A. Mueller and T. Fromm and R. Krug and V. Tincani and R. Mojtahedzadeh and S. Kunaschk and R. M. Ernits and D. R. Canelhas and M. Bonilla and S. Schwertfeger and M. Bonini and H. Halfar and K. Pathak and M. Rohde and G Fantoni and A. Bicchi and A. Birk and A. Lilienthal and W. Echelmeyer} } @conference {2453, title = {A Novel Tactile Display for Softness and Texture Rendering in Tele-Operation Tasks}, booktitle = { IEEE World Haptics Conference}, 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 by the EU FP7 project (no. 601165), {\textquotedblleft}WEARable HAPtics for Humans and Robots (WEARHAP){\textquotedblright}

}, pages = {49-56}, publisher = {IEEE}, organization = {IEEE}, address = {Chicago, USA, 22-25 June 2015}, abstract = {

Softness\ and\ texture\ high-frequency information represent fundamental haptic properties for every day life activities and environment tactual exploration. While several\ displays\ have been produced to convey either\ softness\ or high-frequency information, there is no or little evidence of systems that are able to reproduce both these properties in an integrated fashion. This aspect is especially crucial in medical\ tele-operated procedures, where roughness and stiffness of human tissues are both important to correctly identify given pathologies through palpation (e.g. in\ tele-dermatology). This work presents a fabric yielding\ display\ (FYD-pad), a fabric-based\ tactiledisplay\ for\ softness\ and\ texturerendering. The system exploits the control of two motors to modify both the stretching state of the elastic fabric forsoftnessrendering\ and to convey\ texture\ information on the basis of accelerometer-based data. At the same time, the measurement of the contact area can be used to control remote or virtual robots. In this paper, we discuss the architecture of FYD-pad and the techniques used for\ softness\ and\ texturereproduction as well as for synthesizing probe-surface interactions from real data.\ Tele-operationexamples and preliminary experiments with humans are reported, which show the effectiveness of the device in delivering both\ softness\ and\ texture\ information.

}, keywords = {Haptics, Robotics}, doi = {10.1109/WHC.2015.7177690}, url = {http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/stamp/stamp.jsp?tp=\&arnumber=7177690}, author = {M. Bianchi and M. Poggiani and A. Serio and A. Bicchi} } @conference {1983, title = {Natural Redundancy Resolution in Dual-Arm Manipulation using Configuration Dependent Stiffness (CDS) Control}, booktitle = {2014 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation}, year = {2014}, pages = {1480 - 1486}, publisher = {IEEE}, organization = {IEEE}, address = {Hong Kong, May 31 2014-June 7 2014 }, abstract = {

Incorporation of human motor control principles in the motion control architectures for humanoid robots or assistive and prosthesis devices will permit these systems not only to look anthropomorphic and natural at the body ware level but also to generate natural motion profiles resembling those executed by humans during manipulation and locomotion. In this work, relying on the observations on human bimanual coordination, a novel realtime motion control strategy is proposed to regulate the desired Cartesian stiffness profile during the execution of bimanual tasks. The novelty of the proposed control scheme relies on the use of common mode stiffness (CMS) and configuration dependent stiffness (CDS) to regulate the size and directionality of the task space stiffness ellipsoid. Thanks to the CDS control, the proposed scheme is not only proved to be effective in regulating the desired stiffness ellipsoid but also permits to resolve the manipulator redundancy in a natural manner. The effectiveness of the controller is evaluated in an experimental setup in which two cooperating robotic arms are executing an assembly task. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed dual-arm CDS-CMS controller is effective in tracking the desired stiffness ellipsoids as well as in producing human-like natural motions for the two robotic arms.

}, keywords = {Haptics, Robotics}, doi = {10.1109/ICRA.2014.6907047}, url = {http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/stamp/stamp.jsp?tp=\&arnumber=6945252}, author = {A. Ajoudani and N G Tsagarakis and J. Lee and M Gabiccini and A. Bicchi} } @conference {1940, title = {Neural correlates of haptic pop-out of shape discrimination in the human brain}, booktitle = {19th Annual Meeting of the Organization for Human Brain Mapping}, year = {2013}, address = {Seattle, USA, June2013}, author = {A. Leo and M. Feurra and S. Rossi and A. Kappers and A. Bicchi and D Prattichizzo and Cristea, I. and David, D. and P. Pietrini and E. Ricciardi} } @conference {BSSB, title = {A new fabric based softness display}, booktitle = {Symposium on Haptic Interfaces for Virtual Environments and Teleoperator Systems}, year = {2010}, note = {

Best Student Paper and Best Paper Award Finalist

}, month = {March 25-16}, pages = {108 - 112}, address = {Waltham,Massachusetts, USA}, keywords = {Haptics, Robotics}, author = {M. Bianchi and A. Serio and E. P. Scilingo and A. Bicchi} } @conference {GB10, title = {A Non-invasive Real-Time Method for Measuring Variable Stiffness}, booktitle = {Robotics Science and Systems}, year = {2010}, month = {June}, address = {Zaragoza, Spain}, keywords = {Robotics}, author = {G. Grioli and A. Bicchi} } @conference {BSSB09, title = {A new softness display based on bi-elastic fabric}, booktitle = {World Haptics}, year = {2009}, note = {

poster presentation

}, month = {March, 18 - 20}, pages = {382 - 383}, address = {Salt Lake City, USA}, abstract = {

Haptic perception allows to explore and recognize an object by conveying several physical information to mechano-receptors and thermo-receptors lying into our skin throughout the body. The term

}, keywords = {Haptics, Robotics}, author = {M. Bianchi and A. Serio and E. P. Scilingo and A. Bicchi} } @conference {DLFSB-IROS09, title = {Nonlinear Decoupled Motion-Stiffness Control and Collision Detection/Reaction for the VSA-II Variable Stiffness Device}, booktitle = {Proc. IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent RObots and Systems}, year = {2009}, month = {October, 11 - 15}, pages = {5487-5494}, address = {St. Louis MO USA}, abstract = {

Variable Stiffness Actuation (VSA) devices are being used to jointly address the issues of safety and performance in physical human-robot interaction. With reference to the VSA-II prototype, we present a feedback linearization approach that allows the simultaneous decoupling and accurate tracking of motion and stiffness reference profiles. The operative condition that avoids control singularities is characterized. Moreover, a momentum-based collision detection scheme is introduced, which does not require joint torque sensing nor information on the time-varying stiffness of the device. Based on the residual signal, a collision reaction strategy is proposed that takes advantage of the proposed nonlinear control to rapidly let the arm bounce away after detecting the impact, while limiting contact forces through a sudden reduction of the stiffness. Simulations results are presented to illustrate the performance of the overall approach. Extensions to the multi-dof case of robot manipulators equipped with VSA-II devices are also considered.

}, keywords = {Embedded Control, Physical Human-Robot Interaction (pHRI), Robotics}, author = {A. De Luca and F. Flacco and R. Schiavi and A. Bicchi} } @conference {MED08-HTB, title = {Neural network based robust adaptive control for a variable stiffness actuator}, booktitle = {Control and Automation, 16 th Mediterranean Conference on Control and Automation}, year = {2008}, pages = {1028 - 1034}, abstract = {

In this paper we present a robust adaptive controller based on a neural network (NN) for a variable stiffness actuator (VSA). The controller is able to independently set the mechanical stiffness and position at the joint shaft to guarantee robustness with respect to slowly time-varying and unmodeled friction coefficients affecting the dynamics of the actuator. The lumped uncertainties of the VSA including unmodeled dynamics are considered and approximated by a simple NN so that the controlled system is asymptotically stable, and remains effective while process conditions vary. To cope with the reconstruction error of the NN, a sliding mode like additional robust control term is introduced. The proofs for the uniformly ultimately bounded (UUB) and uniform asymptotic (UAS) stabilities for the closed-loop system are provided in detail via Lyapunov theory. Simulation and experimental results are reported in support of both validity and performance of the proposed approach.

}, keywords = {Embedded Control, Robotics}, author = {S. Huh and G. Tonietti and A. Bicchi} } @article {BB02, title = {Necessary and Sufficient Conditions for Robust Perfect Tracking under Variable Structure Control}, journal = {International Journal of Robust and Nonlinear Control}, volume = {13}, number = {2}, year = {2003}, month = {02/2003}, pages = {141-151}, abstract = {

The tracking control of linear MIMO systems with structured uncertainty is considered. A necessary and sufficient condition for robust asymptotic tracking employing variable structure techniques in the presence of multiplicative uncertainty is derived. The constructive proof of the theorem provides an explicit formula for controller synthesis.

}, keywords = {Embedded Control, Robotics}, author = {A. Balluchi and A. Bicchi} } @conference {PBSV02, title = {Numerically efficient control of systems with communication constraints}, booktitle = {Proc. IEEE Int. Conf. on Decision and Control}, year = {2002}, month = {December}, pages = {1626-1631}, abstract = {

The problem of stabilization to the trivial equilibrium of a system with communication constraints is addressed. The communication constraints are related to the fact that commands are issued to different groups of actuators through a shared resource. We tackle the problem by using a Model Predictive Control scheme, which,at every step, decides the allocation of the bus {\em and} he control command values. After discussing two different alternatives for dealing with the scheduling constraints, we develop a formulation based on the generalized linear complementarity problem, which enables the application of efficient numerical solutions. Finally, we give some preliminary result on the parametric dependence of the problem{\textquoteright}s solution from the system{\textquoteright}s state.

}, keywords = {Embedded Control, Robotics}, author = {L. Palopoli and A. Bicchi and A. L. Sangiovanni-Vincentelli} } @conference {CCB00, title = {Nonholonomic Kinematics and Dynamics of the Sphericle}, booktitle = {Proc. IEEE Int. Symp. Intelligent Robots and Systems}, year = {2000}, pages = {805-810}, address = {Takamatsu, Japan}, keywords = {Autonomous Vehicles, Nonlinear Control Systems, Spherical Vehicles}, author = {C. Camicia and F. Conticelli and A. Bicchi} } @conference {BB97, title = {Necessary and Sufficient Dominance Conditions for Robust Decentralization of VS Tracking Control}, booktitle = {Proc. European Control Conference}, year = {1997}, keywords = {Hybrid and Embedded Control Systems, Nonlinear Control Systems}, author = {A. Balluchi and A. Bicchi} } @conference {PMBV96, title = { Noninteracting force/motion control of defective manipulation systems }, booktitle = {Proc. Conf. on Decision and Control}, year = {1996}, keywords = {Robot Arms, Robot Hands}, author = {D Prattichizzo and P. Mercorelli and A. Bicchi and A. Vicino} } @conference {SBCB95, title = {Nonholonomic, Bounded Curvature Path Planning In Cluttered Environments}, booktitle = {IEEE/INRIA Conf. on Emerging Technologies and Factory Automation}, year = {1995}, keywords = {Autonomous Vehicles, Navigation and Planning}, author = {C. Santilli and A. Bicchi and G. Casalino and A. Balestrino} } @inbook {BP93, title = {New Issues in the Kineto-Statics, Dynamics, and Control of Whole-Hand Manipulation}, booktitle = {Robotics, Mechatronics and Manufacturing Systems}, year = {1993}, pages = {373-3790}, publisher = {North Holland}, organization = {North Holland}, address = {Amsterdam}, keywords = {Haptics, Robotics}, author = {A. Bicchi and D Prattichizzo}, editor = {T. Takamori and K. Tsuchiya} }