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About

Stefano Tortora is a robotics and biomedical engineering researcher whose work bridges human-robot interaction, rehabilitation robotics, and neural interfaces. His research spans three deeply interconnected domains: shared control teleoperation, robotic rehabilitation for neurological patients, and brain-machine interfaces (BMIs) for assistive and rehabilitative applications. Tortora's contributions to rehabilitation robotics are particularly notable. His investigations into arm weight compensation strategies for stroke patients — including feedforward model-based approaches with the ARMin robot — have helped expand active training possibilities for severely impaired individuals, collectively garnering over 75 citations. In the shared control domain, his 2022 work on improved potential fields (57 citations) advances how robots intelligently integrate user intent with environmental awareness, enhancing safety and task performance. A significant thread of his research focuses on neurorobotics infrastructure. His development of ROS-Neuro, an open-source middleware platform connecting neurophysiological interfaces with robotic systems, has provided the field with a standardized, accessible toolset — earning nearly 40 citations across two publications. His work also extends to lower limb exoskeletons, BMI-driven gait rehabilitation, motion prediction for human-robot collaboration, and even pioneering brain-robot interfaces for children. With over 250 total citations, Tortora's research meaningfully advances the integration of human neuroscience with intelligent robotic systems.