Michele Focchi
Papers
44
Total Citations
2,831
H-Index
24
About
Michele Focchi is a pioneering roboticist whose work has fundamentally shaped the field of legged locomotion and quadruped robot design. Best known for his central role in developing the HyQ family of hydraulically actuated quadruped robots at the Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Focchi's research spans robot hardware design, torque control, terrain-adaptive locomotion, and motion planning. His landmark 2011 paper introducing HyQ — a 90 kg, torque-controlled quadruped capable of both dynamic movement and careful navigation over rough terrain — has accumulated over 627 citations, establishing it as a foundational reference in legged robotics. He subsequently contributed to HyQ2Max, a more rugged and powerful successor with self-righting capabilities. Beyond hardware, Focchi has made significant contributions to whole-body control, active impedance strategies, and coupled planning frameworks that allow robots to simultaneously optimize footholds and body trajectories across challenging environments. His work on high-slope locomotion and path planning with force-based foothold adaptation further demonstrates his commitment to real-world applicability. With over 1,900 combined citations across his top works, Focchi's research has profoundly influenced how modern quadrupeds perceive, plan, and move through unstructured environments.
Research Focus
Key Achievements
Top Papers
- 1Design of HyQ – a hydraulically and electrically actuated quadruped robot627 citations · 2011
- 2Design of the Hydraulically Actuated, Torque-Controlled Quadruped Robot HyQ2Max261 citations · 2016
- 3High-slope terrain locomotion for torque-controlled quadruped robots204 citations · 2016
- 4Towards versatile legged robots through active impedance control175 citations · 2015
- 5Dynamic torque control of a hydraulic quadruped robot157 citations · 2012
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- 9Towards a multi-legged mobile manipulator83 citations · 2016
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