Daniele received the bachelor and master degrees in Control Engineering with highest honors from ”Sapienza”, University of Rome, in 2007 and 2009, respectively. In 2009, he also received the ”Excellence Path Award” from Sapienza. In 2013, he earned the PhD title with a thesis prepared at INRIA Sophia Antipolis, France, under the supervision of Tarek Hamel and Claude Samson. From 2013 to 2017, he has been a postdoc at the Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT) working within the EU project CoDyCo. Since August 2017, he is the head of the Dynamic Interaction Control lab. The main lab research focus is on the humanoid robot locomotion problem, with specific attention on the control and planning of the associated nonlinear systems. Also, the lab is pioneering Aerial Humanoid Robotics, whose main aim is to make flying humanoid robots. Currently, the lab is implementing iRonCub, the jet-powered flying version of the humaonid robot iCub. Daniele is also the scientific PI of the H2020 European Project AnDy, task leader of the H2020 European Project SoftManBot, and coordinator of the joint laboratory between IIT and Honda JP. In 2019, he was awarded as Innovator of the year Under 35 Europe from the MIT Technology Review magazine. Since 2020 and in the context of the split site PhD supervision program, Daniele is a visiting lecturer at University of Manchester. In July 2020, Daniele was selected to represent Italy at the Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence (GPAI, conceived by Canada and France during their G7 presidencies) for the working group on COVID-19 response.
Since August 2017, I am a research scientist leading the Dynamic Interaction Control lab at IIT.
Our research can be decomposed into three research axes:
The young, dynamic, and highly motivated team is composed of 25 persons.
From 2015 to August 2017 I have been a senior postdoc within the Dynamic Interaction Control Lab. I have beed coordinating four PhD students.
Their domain of expertise is on planning, estimation, and control of floating base systems. Francesco Romano graduated in 2016, and is now a research engineer at Google DeepMind
Francesco Romano Yeshasvi Tirupachuri Marie Charbonneau Gabriele Nava
From 2013 to 2015, I have been a postdoc responsible for the experimental activities associated with the deliverables of CoDyCo, project number: 600716 FP7-ICT-2011.2.1 Cognitive Systems and Robotics. The project has been graded as excellent for four years. Given the success of the experimental activities obtained as an outocme of the project, I have been included in the coordination PI team of the project - see video below, minute 1:55 - coordinating a team of three PhD students.
Visit the website of the Dynamic Interaction Control lab to know more about projects and research directions.
2019 Innovator of the year under 35 Europe, MIT Technology Review
2019 Best Student Paper Award, Intelligent Systems Conference (IntelliSys) 2019
2019 Best video blooper award, IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA)
2018 Outstanding paper, IEEE-RAS International Conference on Humanoid Robots (HUMANOIDS)
2017 Finalist, Kuka innovation award, Co-aware team.
2015 Top 3 most interesting Italian research topics, research and innovation research prize “ Sapio”, Total submissions: 141, selected for publication on "DA, per la ricerca e l’innovazione". Title: "Tu, robot.". Online at http://www.daonline.info/pagine/45.pdf, p. 38.
2010 Vinci Program Grant, travel support grant, from “Université Franco Italienne”.
2009 Academic Excellence, from “Sapienza” University of Rome.
2004 Research project award, at the Triennial Electronics Exhibit, Technical Industrial State Institute “G. Vallauri”, Velletri (Italy).
1998 Tullio Fazi Prize, distinguished student award, from Rotary International 2080.
L’Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT) è una fondazione di diritto privato - cfr. determinazione Corte dei Conti 23/2015 “IIT è una fondazione da inquadrare fra gli organismi di diritto pubblico con la scelta di un modello di organizzazione di diritto privato per rispondere all’esigenza di assicurare procedure più snelle nella selezione non solo nell’ambito nazionale dei collaboratori, scienziati e ricercatori ”.
IIT è sotto la vigilanza del Ministero dell'Istruzione, dell'Università e della Ricerca e del Ministero dell'Economia e delle Finanze ed è stato istituito con la Legge 326/2003. La Fondazione ha l'obiettivo di promuovere l'eccellenza nella ricerca di base e in quella applicata e di favorire lo sviluppo del sistema economico nazionale. La costruzione dei laboratori iniziata nel 2006 si è conclusa nel 2009.
Lo staff complessivo di IIT conta circa 1440 persone. L’area scientifica è rappresentata da circa l’85% del personale. Il 45% dei ricercatori proviene dall’estero: di questi, il 29% è costituito da stranieri provenienti da oltre 50 Paesi e il 16% da italiani rientrati. Oggi il personale scientifico è composto da circa 60 principal investigators, circa 110 ricercatori e tecnologi di staff, circa 350 post doc, circa 500 studenti di dottorato e borsisti, circa 130 tecnici. Oltre 330 posti su 1400 creati su fondi esterni. Età media 34 anni. 41% donne / 59 % uomini.
Nel 2015 IIT ha ricevuto finanziamenti pubblici per circa 96 milioni di euro (80% del budget), conseguendo fondi esterni per 22 milioni di euro (20% budget) provenienti da 18 progetti europei, 17 finanziamenti da istituzioni nazionali e internazionali, circa 60 progetti industriali
La produzione di IIT ad oggi vanta circa 6990 pubblicazioni, oltre 130 finanziamenti Europei e 11 ERC, più di 350 domande di brevetto attive, oltre 12 start up costituite e altrettante in fase di lancio. Dal 2009 l’attività scientifica è stata ulteriormente rafforzata con la creazione di dieci centri di ricerca nel territorio nazionale (a Torino, Milano, Trento, Parma, Roma, Pisa, Napoli, Lecce, Ferrara) e internazionale (MIT ed Harvard negli USA) che, unitamente al Laboratorio Centrale di Genova, sviluppano i programmi di ricerca del piano scientifico 2015-2017.
Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT) is a public research institute that adopts the organizational model of a private law foundation. IIT is overseen by Ministero dell'Istruzione, dell'Università e della Ricerca and Ministero dell'Economia e delle Finanze (the Italian Ministries of Education, Economy and Finance). The Institute was set up according to Italian law 326/2003 with the objective of promoting excellence in basic and applied research andfostering Italy’s economic development. Construction of the Laboratories started in 2006 and finished in 2009.
IIT has an overall staff of about 1,440 people. The scientific staff covers about 85% of the total. Out of 45% of researchers coming from abroad 29% are foreigners coming from more than 50 countries and 16% are returned Italians. The scientific staff currently consists of approximately 60 Principal Investigators, 110 researchers and technologists, 350 post-docs and 500 PhD students and grant holders and 130 technicians. External funding has allowed the creation of more than 330 positions . The average age is 34 and the gender balance proportion is 41% female against 59% male.
In 2015 IIT received 96 million euros in public funding (accounting for 80% of its budget) and obtained 22 million euros in external funding (accounting for 20% of its budget). External funding comes from 18 European Projects, other 17 national and international competitive projects and approximately 60 industrial projects.
So far IIT accounts for: about 6990 publications, more than 130 European grants and 11 ERC grants, more than 350 patents or patent applications, 12 up start-ups and as many which are about to be launched. The Institute’s scientific activity has been further strengthened since 2009 with the establishment of 11 research nodes throughout Italy (Torino, Milano, Trento, Parma, Roma, Pisa, Napoli, Lecce, Ferrara) and abroad (MIT and Harvard University, USA), which, along with the Genoa-based Central Lab, implement the research programs included in the 2015-2017 Strategic Plan.
