Edoardo Farnioli
University of Pisa, Italian Institute of Technology, Piaggio (Italy)
Papers
13
Total Citations
1,053
H-Index
9
About
Edoardo Farnioli is a leading figure in the design and control of dexterous, underactuated robotic hands, with a particular focus on bio-inspired grasping and whole-body loco-manipulation. His most celebrated contribution is the **Pisa/IIT SoftHand**, introduced in a 2014 paper that has garnered over **660 citations**. This robust, human-like gripper leverages the concept of "adaptive synergies" to achieve remarkable grasping versatility with simple control, bridging the gap between industrial grippers and human hands. Farnioli’s foundational 2012 work on adaptive synergies for humanoid hands (120 citations) established a framework for underactuation that has influenced a generation of roboticists. He has also advanced the field through studies on active surfaces for dexterous grippers ("Velvet Fingers," 75 citations) and by developing analytical tools for grasp analysis. Beyond the hand, his research extends to whole-body loco-manipulation with the Walk-Man robot, where he experimentally validated optimal contact force distribution for multi-contact scenarios. Farnioli’s work is distinguished by its practical, experimental rigor, consistently demonstrating how simple, compliant mechanisms can achieve complex, human-like manipulation—a philosophy that has made his designs both highly cited and widely adopted in the robotics community.
Research Focus
Key Achievements
Top Papers
- 1Adaptive synergies for the design and control of the Pisa/IIT SoftHand662 citations · 2014
- 2Adaptive synergies for a humanoid robot hand120 citations · 2012
- 3Velvet fingers: A dexterous gripper with active surfaces75 citations · 2012
- 4Grasping with Soft Hands68 citations · 2014
- 5Grasp analysis tools for synergistic underactuated robotic hands36 citations · 2013
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- 7From Soft to Adaptive Synergies: The Pisa/IIT SoftHand19 citations · 2016
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