Francesca Negrello
Papers
18
Total Citations
623
H-Index
10
About
Francesca Negrello is a leading roboticist whose research focuses on the design and control of high-performance humanoid robots capable of operating in unstructured, hazardous environments. Her most significant contribution is the development of the WALK-MAN humanoid platform, a robot engineered for realistic disaster response scenarios. This work, detailed in her highly cited 2017 paper (266 citations), demonstrated robust locomotion, powerful manipulation, and physical sturdiness. Negrello has been instrumental in advancing compliant actuation, introducing modular actuators that allow humanoids to withstand falls and impacts—a critical capability for real-world deployment. Her research on energy-based fall prediction (35 citations) provides a quantitative method for assessing robot balance, while her work on soft articulated wrists and resilient hands addresses the challenge of manipulation in confined spaces. A 2022 review on damping in compliant actuation (16 citations) further underscores her role in shaping this evolving field. Through her contributions to the WALK-MAN project and beyond, Negrello is helping to bridge the gap between humanoid robotics and practical, life-saving applications in post-disaster environments.
Research Focus
Key Achievements
Top Papers
- 1WALK‐MAN: A High‐Performance Humanoid Platform for Realistic Environments266 citations · 2017
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- 4Humanoids at Work: The WALK-MAN Robot in a Postearthquake Scenario36 citations · 2018
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- 6Hands in the Real World34 citations · 2020
- 7A Compact Soft Articulated Parallel Wrist for Grasping in Narrow Spaces24 citations · 2019
- 8Damping in Compliant Actuation: A Review16 citations · 2022
- 9
- 10Benchmarking Hand and Grasp Resilience to Dynamic Loads14 citations · 2020