Since 2009, I’ve started working on bio-inspired systems, shifting form Nature-based (software) search techniques to Nature-based physical systems.
Check out these pages for more info:
Before, I have been working on hybrid evolutionary-based algorithms for optimisation (SAT and MAXCLIQUE problems,1996-2002). Since 2003 I have been applying these techniques to learning classifier systems, image-based object pose estimation and tracking, multi-robot cooperative localization, in the field of evolvable systems and robotics, mainly in space and air/ground multi-robot coordination robotics applications.
NOTE: if you are looking for SAT instances, you can find them here.
Current projects I am involved in
Past research projects
Agency). (2009)
Brief resume
My first research activities date back to winter 1995-96, when I was guest at the University of Leiden, the Netherlands. I've been working within the ALP group, where I've been working on my thesis, concerning Constraint Logic Programming (CLP) and Genetic Algorithms (GAs), and their applications on Neural Networks training. Here is an extended abstract (Sorry, in italian only).
This work got me my university degree ("laurea") in computer science at the Computer Science Department (DSI) of the Ca' Foscari University, Venice in july 1996.
Then, at the Computer Science Department of the University Ca' Foscari of Venice, I worked with M.Pelillo on some problems concerning Computer Vision, more specifically on continuous-based algorithms for the matching of relational structures, which has applications i.e. on object recognition and stereo vision, and which ends up in the well-known NP-hard Maximum Clique Problem on graphs (MCP).
Then I switched from the continuous to the discrete domain, working on genetic algorithms applied to another well-known NP-hard problem, the Satisfiability Problem (SAT) which has relevant applications in Artificial Intelligence.
To this aim, I spent one year back in the Netherlands, guest at the LIACS (Leiden Institute for Advanced Computer Science), again in the ALP Group. I've been working with Elena Marchiori under the supervision of the head of the ALP group, prof.dr. Joost N. Kok.
I got my PhD in computer science at the Computer Science Department (DSI) of the Ca' Foscari University, Venice and at the Computer Science Department (CS) of the University of Bologna in february 2001. The thesis was about nature-inspired search techniques (evolutionary algorithms an neural networks) for hard optimization problems.
After that, I moved to the Department of Artificial Intelligence of the Polytechnic University (UPM) of Madrid, Spain, where I've been working on Learning Classifier Systems. I was involved in a project whose aim was to apply these techniques to medical applications, more precisely to breast cancer prognosis.
After a brief parenthesis working in the industry on GPS/GIS fleet control software, I've been visiting professor at the Department of Systems Engineerign and Automation of the Carlos III University of Madrid, Spain, during 2004 and 2005.
Then, I have been granted a "Ramon y Cajal" tenure-track research fellowship from the Spanish Ministry of Education and Technology, which I spent at the Industrial Engineering School of at the Universidad Politecnica de Madrid (UPM), Spain.
In summer 2007 I have been guest for a short time at the Free University of Amsterdam, working on robot cooperation within the “Computational Intelligence Group", headed by prof. A.E. Eiben.
Since January 2009 I have been contracted as professor at the UPM, with the Centre for Automation and Robotics (CAR).
Misc Activities (last 5 years)
Besides the participation to a number of conferences and congresses (see the Publications section), I gave invited talks at various events:
•Talk at the 2nd Extract-IT workshop, “Defining FET research topics supporting the ICT challenges of mineral extraction under extreme geo-environmental conditions” Brussels, June 2013.
•Invited talk: “BatBot: a bat-inspired flying robot”, Biomimetics Networking day, Vitora-Gasteiz, Spain, October 2013.
•Organization of the workshop on smart materials and alternative technologies for bio-inspired robots and systems “ATBio”, part of the IROS 2012 conference
•Invited talk: “Bio-inspired robots and alternative actuation systems”, workshop "Robots for Citizens", Madrid, June 2012
•FET Consultation workshop "Living technology / Artificial systems / Embodied Evolution", Brussels November 2011. (see here)
•The EvoBody (EU FET Proactive Initiative SA on AWARENESS) workshop, Mallorca, Spain, March 2011. (see here)
•Invited talk: “Could robot fish be used for leading schools of fish?”, FitFish Workshop on ‘A role for exercise in improving welfare in sustainable aquaculture’, FitFish workshop, Barcelona, Spain, July 2010.
•Invited talk: “Multi-Robot systems in Defense and Security: two case studies”, Workshop on Autonomy, EURON/EUROP annual meeting, San Sebastian, Spain, March 2010.
•July 2008: Lecture “Cooperation in Robotics", summerschool on Robotics in High School, El Escorial, Spain
•May 2008: Invited talk “Tracking Moving Optima in Evolutionary Algorithms", Univ. Carlos III de Madrid, Spain
•October 2007: Invited talk “Robotics in Security and Defense", Hisparob technology Platform, Aranjuez, Spain
I have also been paper reviewer for a number of conferences and journals...
Natural Computation (2012); Smart Materials and structures (IOP, 2012); Smart Structures and Systems (Techno-press, 2012); IEEE Transaction on Mechatronics (2011, 2012); Bioinspiration and Biomimetics (IOP, 2011, 2012, 2013); Theoretical Computer Science (Elsevier, 2007); and the major robotics and CS conferences: Int.l Conf. on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS, 2008, 2011); IEEE Int.l Conf. on Robotics and Automation (ICRA, 2010, 2011); IEEE International Conference on Automation Science and Engineering (CASE), 2011.
...and both project evaluator and rapporteur for FP7 calIs.
