Papers
10
Total Citations
1,386
H-Index
8
About
Giada Gerboni is a pioneering researcher at the intersection of soft robotics and minimally invasive surgery (MIS), whose work has fundamentally advanced how compliant, dexterous robotic systems can be designed and controlled for clinical applications. Her most influential contribution, the STIFF-FLOP project (2014, 524 citations), tackled critical limitations of existing surgical instruments by introducing soft robotic manipulators capable of navigating confined anatomical spaces with greater safety and flexibility than traditional rigid tools. Building on this foundation, Gerboni has made significant strides in variable stiffness mechanisms, tendon-based stiffening strategies (207 citations), and closed-loop feedback control of soft actuators using commercial flex sensors (215 citations), addressing the longstanding challenge of precision control in highly deformable structures. Her highly dexterous two-module soft robot for intra-organ navigation demonstrated real surgical promise, culminating in cadaveric feasibility studies for total mesorectal excision — a technically demanding colorectal procedure. She has also explored robotic needle steering for distributed liver tumor ablation, broadening her impact across surgical disciplines. With a body of work accumulating nearly 1,400 citations, Gerboni's research has meaningfully shaped the trajectory of surgical robotics, making safer, smarter, and more adaptable tools a tangible clinical reality.
Research Focus
Key Achievements
Top Papers
- 1
- 2Feedback Control of Soft Robot Actuators via Commercial Flex Bend Sensors215 citations · 2017
- 3Tendon-Based Stiffening for a Pneumatically Actuated Soft Manipulator207 citations · 2016
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- 5Robotic Granular Jamming: Does the Membrane Matter?117 citations · 2014
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