Michele Focchi

Background

About Michele Focchi

Michele Focchi is a world-recognized expert in motion planning and control of quadruped robots, with 16 years of experience in robotics. He is particularly known for his pioneering work on heuristic locomotion in unstructured terrains. His research lies at the intersection of control, optimization, and machine learning, with a focus on enhancing quadruped robot performance in challenging environments through optimization-based techniques. Currently, he is a Professor at the University of Trento in the Department of Information Engineering and Computer Science (DISI), where he teaches introductory robotics courses and a Scientific Advisor for All3. From 2022 to 2024, He was also a visiting scientist at the Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT), where previously he co-founded the Dynamic Legged Systems (DLS) Lab, a leading international research team dedicated to the development of quadruped robots and their locomotion. Dr. Focchi earned both his B.Sc. and M.Sc. in Control Systems Engineering from Politecnico di Milano. In 2013, he completed his Ph.D. in Robotics at IIT, contributing to the Hydraulically Actuated Quadruped Robot project. His work evolved from low-level controllers for locomotion to whole-body control, model identification, and robust locomotion strategies for real-world platforms. He has also explored innovative robotic platforms, including a rappelling robot for hydro-geological risk reduction and control strategies for tracked robots in agriculture. Beyond academia, Dr. Focchi has played key roles in several high-profile industrial and academic projects, including ECHORD++, INAIL, and ANT with the European Space Agency. In 2015, he co-founded the MOOG-IIT joint lab to develop advanced software and control solutions for autonomous robots. He has organized several scientific workshops and delivered over 20 invited talks at international events. He is an Associate Editor for RA-L and the ICRA conference. He has authored or co-authored more than 53 scientific papers in international journals and conferences, with a high citation record, and has supervised numerous Master’s and Ph.D. theses. He is in the list of the 400 most cited italian engineers in the world according to google scholar: Specialties: control systems, planning, optimization, mechatronics