The IIT Scientific Plan (2009-2011) is the evolution of the 2005-2008 plan, which was dealing with a large scale program on Humanoid Robotics. According to the 2005-2008 strategic plan, the Humanoid Robotics program had a strong interdisciplinary character, merging human and humanoid technologies through the development of 3 technology platforms: Robotics, Neuroscience and Drug Discovery and Development (D3), supported by a few facilities for nano-biotechnologies (such as material science, nanofabrication, chemistry and biochemistry, electron microscopy laboratories etc.). Each platform was meant to develop specific topics/tasks in different IIT research units, such as the Departments built in Genova-Morego, or, in some cases, the external research units forming the multidisciplinary research network of IIT country-wide.

Click to view the research platforms organisational chart

To date the research infrastructure of IIT in Genova-Morego has been completed. It consists of more than 500 staff from 30 different countries, operating in a 25000 sqm facility equipped with state of the art laboratories distributed over three Robotics departments (Robotics, Brain and Cognitive Sciences; Advanced Robotics; TeleRobotics and Applications) and two life-science oriented departments (Neuroscience and Brain Technologies, and D3), and a few shared facilities including nanofabrication clean room, material science lab, chemistry lab, biochemistry lab, animal facility, electron microscopy, mechanical and electronic workshops. The growth of the Humanoid Robotic program at IIT is witnessed by the exceptional development of the iCub robot (see the movie below), which merges in a unique way the engineering, the neuroscience, and the material science know-how existing at the Institute.

The Robot Child

The new strategic plan 2009-2011 aims at consolidating the capabilities accomplished by IIT in the start-up phase, by developing a few new platforms instrumental to the evolution of the Humanoid Robotic program, meanwhile providing new opportunities to foster technological solutions useful in many different fields of the everyday life. The new platforms represent the natural evolution of the existing ones, and they originate from the idea of making iCub closer and closer to a human, namely: to power the robot with portable, high efficiency energy sources, to develop smart materials with biomimetic characteristics, to investigate the interaction between artificial nanosystems and biological entities (such as cells) in view of future interconnections but also to assess safety issues. These activities, will be supported by an integrated multiscale computation activity. Though each one the above topics have their own rationale and field of application, their combination and synergic development within the humanoid robotic program is the great challenge of the 2009-2011 strategic plan of IIT. With reference to the scheme above, the 2009-2011 strategic plan prioritised technological platforms can be identified as:

1. Energy: portable energy sources, plastic solar cells, energy harvesting, energy storage, energy scavenging, fuel cell technologies (descending from the Robotics platform. Relevant to self-powered technologies);
2. EHS (Environment, Health, Security): interaction of nanosystems with biological entities, in pharmacology, therapies, and any other human environment (descending from the Neuroscience platform, the Drug Discovery and Development platform and from the nanobiotech facilities. Relevant for future safety standards at nanoscale currently targeted by all advanced countries, and of great relevance for quality assessment in many fields such as new materials, environment, pharmacology, food and agriculture, new security standards for living creatures and human environment in the presence of nanosystems);
3. Smart Materials: lightweight nanocomposites, intelligent biocompatible surfaces, interface living systems/inorganic systems, textile/fiber engineering (descending from the Robotics platform and the nanobiotech facilities. Relevant for future non-metallic robots, for environmentally friendly materials, biocompatible materials, new generation sensors, etc)
4. 4D (Diagnostic, Drug-Delivery Development): this is an extension and a completion of the existing drug discovery development platform (pursued by the D3 department) . In addition to the D3 activities, advanced diagnostic tools such as chip for genomic and proteomic analysis, multifunctional magnetic/fluorescent nanoprobes, nanocarrier for in vivo drug delivery, nanospectroscopies will be developed.
5. Integrated Multiscale Computational Technology: developing advanced modeling of complex systems of interest to the above platforms.

The implementation of the scientific program outlined so far will require the following actions:

• Nanofabrication (NAFA),
• Nanochemistry (NACH),
• Nanophysics (NAPH);

• Center for Space Human Robotics: CSHR@POLITO - Torino, Politecnico di Torino
• Center for Nano Science & Technology: CNST@POLIMI – Milano, Politecnico di Milano
• ISI GenOmics Centre of Genomic Science: CGS@SEMM – Milano, IFOM-IEO-SEMM
• Center for Neuroscience and Cognitive Systems: CNCS@UniTn – Trento, Università di Trento
• Center for Nanotechnology Innovation: CNI@NEST – Pisa, Scuola Normale Superiore
• Center for Micro-BioRobotics: CMBR@SSSA – Pisa, Scuola Superiore S. Anna
• Center for Advanced Biomaterials for Health Care: CABHC@CRIB – Napoli, Università Federico II
• Center for Biomolecular Nanotechnolgies: CBN@UniLe - Lecce, Università del Salento