Manuel Bonilla
University of Pisa, Piaggio (Italy), Italian Institute of Technology
Papers
13
Total Citations
375
H-Index
9
About
Manuel Bonilla is a robotics researcher whose work spans soft robotics, robotic manipulation, motion planning, and human-robot interaction. He has made significant contributions to the development of compliant, adaptable robotic systems that bring machines closer to human-like dexterity and natural motion. His 2017 paper "The Quest for Natural Machine Motion," which has accumulated 120 citations, introduced an open platform for fast-prototyping articulated soft robots, helping democratize research in this rapidly growing field. Alongside this, his work on the Pisa/IIT SoftHand — explored across multiple publications including "Grasping with Soft Hands" (68 citations) and "From Soft to Adaptive Synergies" — has advanced understanding of how underactuated, synergy-driven hands can rival human grasping capabilities. Bonilla has also addressed practical industrial challenges, such as automating container unloading (46 citations), and contributed theoretically rigorous solutions to constrained motion planning for robot manipulators. His 2018 research on touch-based grasp primitives further bridges soft robotics with human-robot handover scenarios. With a body of work totaling hundreds of citations, Bonilla stands as an influential voice shaping the future of intelligent, physically adaptive robotic systems.
Research Focus
Key Achievements
Top Papers
- 1
- 2Grasping with Soft Hands68 citations · 2014
- 3No More Heavy Lifting: Robotic Solutions to the Container Unloading Problem46 citations · 2016
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- 7From Soft to Adaptive Synergies: The Pisa/IIT SoftHand19 citations · 2016
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- 10Planning Robotic Manipulation with Tight Environment Constraints8 citations · 2021