Awards

“It’s not bragging if you can back it up.”

— Muhammad Ali

Scientific awards

A collection of excellent achievements in the research field by the members and associates of our team.

  • 2025 CableCon Best student paper: awarded to the paper “Rest-to-Rest Trajectory Planning for Underactuated Cable-Driven Parallel Robots Using Input Shaping: Preliminary Results”, by A. Lucarini, E. Idà, M. Carricato, presented at the 7th Internation Conference on Cable Driven Parallel Robots (CableCon 2025).
  • 2025 CNIM Best Research Paper (Young Researcher): awarded to the paper “Determinación del dominio de contacto y reparto de carga en engranajes cónicos de evolvente de dientes rectos y ejes paralelos”, by G. Sciarra, G., M. Carricato, M. Pleguezuelos Gonzàlez, M. B. Sánchez Sánchez, J. I. Pedrero Moya, presented at the 25th Congreso Nacional de Ingenierìa Mecànica (CNIM 2025).
  • 2024 DIN Best Paper Award: awarded by the Department of Industrial Engineering (DIN) of the University of Bologna to the paper “Force and time-optimal trajectory planning for dual-arm unilateral cooperative grasping”, by R. Di Leva, H. Gattringer, A. Müller and M. Carricato, published in Mechanism and Machine Theory, 201, 2024.
  • 2024 DIN Best Paper Award: awarded by the Department of Industrial Engineering (DIN) of the University of Bologna to the paper “Directional Critical Load Index: A Distance-to-Instability Metric for Continuum Robots,” by F. Zaccaria, E. Idà and S. Briot, published in IEEE Transactions on Robotics, vol. 40, pp. 3620-3637, 2024.
  • 2024 EUCOMES Best Student Paper Award: awarded to the paper “An innovative low-backlash Wolfrom gearbox with beveloid gears for robotic applications”, by G. Sciarra, G. Mottola, G. Casamenti and M. Carricato, presented at the 9th European Conference on Mechanism Science (EUCOMES 2024).
  • 2024 EUCOMES Research Paper Certificate of Merit: awarded to the paper “Anti-sloshing motion laws for one-dimensional piecewise trajectories”, by F. Brasina, L. Guagliumi, R. Di Leva and M. Carricato, presented at the 9th European Conference on Mechanism Science (EUCOMES 2024).
  • IFToMM Best Student Paper Award (2023): awarded to the paper “Total Least Squares In-Field Identification for MEMS-Based Triaxial Accelerometers”, by M. Duchi, F. Zaccaria, S. Briot, E. Ida’, presented at the IFToMM World Congress 2023, Tokyo.
  • IFIT Bronze Best Student Paper Award (2022): awarded to the paper “Kinematic Modeling and Design of a Sensorized Cable-Routing System for Cable-Driven Parallel Robots”, by A. Lucarini and E. Idà, presented at the 4th Int. Conference of IFToMM, Italy (IFIT 2022).
  • IEEE I-RAS Young Author Best Paper Award (2021): awarded by the Italian Chapter of IEEE Robotics & Automation Society to the paper “Rest-to-Rest Trajectory Planning for Underactuated Cable-Driven Parallel Robots”, by E. Idà, T. Bruckmann, and M. Carricato, published on IEEE Transactions on Robotics, 35(6), 2019.
  • CABLECON Best Research Paper Award (2021): awarded to the paper “A New Performance Index for Underactuated Cable-Driven Parallel Robots”, by E. Idà and M. Carricato, presented at the 5th International Conference on Cable-Driven Parallel Robots (CABLECON 2021).
  • I-RIM Best Paper Award Finalist (2020): the paper “Cable-Driven Parallel Robots, Theoretical Challenges and Industrial Applications”, by E. Idà and M. Carricato, was selected as a finalist for the best paper award in the category “Mechanical design of robotic systems” at the 2nd Italian Conference of Robotics and Intelligent Machines (I-RIM 3D 2020).
  • ROMANSY Best Research Paper Award Finalist (2020): the paper “An Analytical Formulation for the Geometrico-static Problem of Continuum Planar Parallel Robots”, by F. Zaccaria, S. Briot, M. T. Chikhaoui, E. Idà and M. Carricato, was selected as a finalist for the best research paper award at the 23rd CISM IFToMM Symposium on Robot Design, Dynamics and Control, 2020 (ROMANSY 2020).
  • IFIT Gold Best Student Paper Award (2020): awarded to the paper “Position Analysis of a Class of n-RRR Planar Parallel Robots”, by T. Marchi, G. Mottola, J. M. Porta Pleite, F. Thomas and M. Carricato, presented at the 3rd Int. Conference of IFToMM, Italy (IFIT 2020).
  • IEEE-CYBER Best Student Paper Award (2019): awarded to the paper “Effect of Actuation Errors on a Purely-Translational Spatial Cable-Driven Parallel Robot”, by G. Mottola, C. Gosselin, and M. Carricato, presented at the 9th IEEE Int. Conference on CYBER Technology in Automation, Control, and Intelligent Systems (IEEE-CYBER 2019).
  • JMD “Reviewer with Distinction” Award (2018): awarded to Marco Carricato by the ASME Journal of Mechanical Design to reviewers who made a meritorious contribution to the journal in terms of the number, quality, and turnaround time of reviews, 2018.
  • MEDER Bronze Best Research Paper Award (2018): awarded to the paper “Unified Pose Parametrization for 1T2R Parallel Manipulators”, by Y. Wu and M. Carricato, presented at the 4th IFToMM Symposium on Mechanism Design for Robotics (MEDER 2018).
  • TRO “Reviewer with distinction” Award (2012): recognition awarded to Marco Carricato by the IEEE Transactions on Robotics to reviewers who provided outstanding and timely reviews, 2012.
  • AIMETA Junior Prize (2011): awarded to Marco Carricato by the Italian Association of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics for outstanding research results, as a young scientist, in the field of Mechanics of Machines, 2011.
  • IEEE I-RAS Young Author Best Paper Award (2011): awarded by the Italian Chapter of IEEE Robotics & Automation Society to the paper “A New Assessment of Singularities of Parallel Kinematic Chains”, by M. Conconi and M. Carricato, published on IEEE Transactions on Robotics, 25(4), 2009.

Student Awards

A collection of student awards for outstanding thesis projects and university careers.

Best Thesis Prizes
  • FEDERTEC Prize (2023): awarded to Lorenzo Coltelli for the master thesis “Studio e progettazione di un riduttore epicicloidale per veicoli elettrici ad alte prestazioni”, in collaboration with CIMA (Bologna), 2023.

  • UCIMU Prize (2020): awarded to Luca Guagliumi for the master thesis “Metodi di pianificazione di traiettorie anti-sloshing”, in collaboration with MARCHESINI (Bologna), 2020.

  • UCIMU Prize (2020): awarded to Riccardo Mancini for the bachelor thesis “Programmazione di un dispositivo di controllo di servo-attuatori per applicazioni di robotica a cavi”, Bologna, 2019.

  • Vetrya – Comitato Leonardo Prize (2018): awarded to Michele Zavatta for the master thesis “Vision-based homing procedure for an overconstrained cable-driven parallel robot”, in collaboration with FRAUNHOFER (Stuttgart, Germany), 2018.

  • UCIMU Prize (2018): awarded to Mattia Chianura for the master thesis “Vision-based enhancement of the pose accuracy of a redundantly actuated cable-driven parallel robot, in collaboration” with FRAUNHOFER (Stuttgart, Germany), 2018.

  • Clementino Bonfiglioli – Comitato Leonardo Prize (2018): awarded to Lorenzo Tubertini for the master thesis “Camera handling strategies and safe autonomous navigation of a mobile robot within an industrial area”, in collaboration with the University of AVEIRO (Aveiro, Portugal), 2018.

  • UCIMU prize (2016): awarded to Eros Monti for the master thesis “Performance analysis of 8-cable parallel robots under different control schemes”, in collaboration with FRAUNHOFER (Stuttgart, Germany), 2016.

  • Clementino Bonfiglioli – Comitato Leonardo Prize (2015): awarded to Giovanni Mottola for the master thesis “Modellazione elettromeccanica di una macchina automatica opercolatrice”, in collaboration with IMA S.p.A. (Bologna), 2015.
Outstanding university careers
  • Ettore Funaioli Prize (2022): awarded to Riccardo Mancini for his outstanding university career as a mechanical engineer student, Bologna, 2022.

  • Ettore Funaioli Prize (2020): awarded to Marco Speziali for his outstanding university career as a mechanical engineer student, Bologna, 2020.

  • Ettore Funaioli Prize (2019): awarded to Giuliano Caroli for his outstanding university career as a mechanical engineer student, Bologna, 2019.

  • Ettore Funaioli Prize (2019): awarded to Roberto Di Leva for his outstanding university career as a mechanical engineer student, Bologna, 2019.

  • Ettore Funaioli Prize (2018): awarded to Michele Zavatta for his outstanding university career as a mechanical engineer student, Bologna, 2018.

  • Ettore Funaioli Prize (2018): awarded to Mattia Chianura for his outstanding university career as a mechanical engineer student, Bologna, 2018.

  • Ettore Funaioli Prize (2017): awarded to Edoardo Idà for his outstanding university career as a mechanical engineer student, Bologna, 2017.

  • Ettore Funaioli Prize (2016): awarded to Eros Monti for his outstanding university career as a mechanical engineer student, Bologna, 2016.