President of SIRI (Italian Association of Robotics and Automation) from 2000 to 2016; then Vice President. President of IIS (Italian Institute of Welding) from 2013 to 2016, then Past-President . National Coordinator at IFR (International Federation of Robotics). Expert of: Advisory Group for Horizon 2020 LEIT-NMBP; European Commission (ICT, ERC, NMP, ESF); Italian Ministry of Economic Development and Ministry of Education, Universities and Research; Polish Minister of Science and Higher Education; Spanish National Research Council Action Plan, Shanghai Jiao
Tong University academic program; Foresight Agency (ANEP).
Main research topics: instrumental robot design, kinematic and dynamic modelling and simulation; intelligent manipulation and grasping; surgical robots, climbing robots, security robots, extreme robotics; flexible and evolvable manufacturing.