Marco Cempini

About

Marco Cempini is a prominent robotics and biomedical engineering researcher whose work sits at the intersection of wearable robotics, assistive technology, and neural interfaces. His research has fundamentally advanced the design and control of exoskeletons and robotic prostheses for individuals with motor impairments, accumulating over 2,000 citations across his most recognized publications alone. Cempini's foundational contributions include pioneering self-alignment mechanisms for wearable robots — a critical challenge when interfacing rigid robotic structures with the human body's complex kinematics — and developing powered hand exoskeletons with self-aligning joint axes that accommodate individual anatomical variability. His 2014 review of assistive strategies in powered lower-limb orthoses, with over 700 citations, remains a landmark reference in the field. Perhaps most strikingly, Cempini co-developed a hybrid EEG/EOG brain-controlled hand exoskeleton that restored fully independent daily living activities in quadriplegic patients, demonstrating a seamless bridge between neural signals and dexterous robotic assistance. His work on lightweight robotic knee prostheses with variable transmission systems further showcases his ability to translate elegant mechanical design into real-world clinical solutions. Across rehabilitation robotics, neural control, and prosthetics, Cempini's research consistently prioritizes both engineering rigor and meaningful human impact.

Research Focus

Key Achievements

Top Papers

1. 1
   Review of assistive strategies in powered lower-limb orthoses and exoskeletons

   705 citations · 2014
2. 2
   Hybrid EEG/EOG-based brain/neural hand exoskeleton restores fully independent daily living activities after quadriplegia

   241 citations · 2016
3. 3
   A Powered Finger–Thumb Wearable Hand Exoskeleton With Self-Aligning Joint Axes

   189 citations · 2014
4. 4
   Design, development, and testing of a lightweight hybrid robotic knee prosthesis

   152 citations · 2018
5. 5
   Self-Alignment Mechanisms for Assistive Wearable Robots: A Kinetostatic Compatibility Method

   152 citations · 2012
6. 6
   An oscillator-based smooth real-time estimate of gait phase for wearable robotics

   137 citations · 2016
7. 7
   A Lightweight, Efficient Fully Powered Knee Prosthesis With Actively Variable Transmission

   98 citations · 2019
8. 8
   Enhancing brain-machine interface (BMI) control of a hand exoskeleton using electrooculography (EOG)

   88 citations · 2014
9. 9
   A novel hand exoskeleton with series elastic actuation for modulated torque transfer

   84 citations · 2019
10. 10
    A Mechatronic System for Robot-Mediated Hand Telerehabilitation

    82 citations · 2014

Key Collaborators

Contact & Links