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About

Luca Simoni is a leading researcher in industrial robotics, whose work has fundamentally advanced the understanding and modeling of joint friction—a critical factor limiting precision and safety in automated systems. His primary research areas include friction modeling with temperature effects, virtual force sensing, and the dynamics of mechanical transmissions. Simoni’s major contribution is the development of novel, temperature-dependent friction models that capture how joint friction changes significantly during robot operation due to heat buildup. His seminal 2015 paper, "Friction modeling with temperature effects for industrial robot manipulators" (51 citations), introduced a polynomial-based solution that has become a reference in the field. He further demonstrated the practical impact of this work by using temperature-informed friction models to create a virtual force sensor for conventional industrial robots (2018, 38 citations), enabling interaction tasks without physical sensors. With over 160 total citations across his most-cited works, Simoni’s research bridges theoretical modeling and real-world application, offering engineers tools to improve robot accuracy, energy efficiency, and safe human-robot collaboration. His work is essential reading for anyone developing advanced control systems for industrial manipulators.