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About

Francesco Potenza’s research sits at the intersection of robotics, structural health monitoring, and infrastructure safety. His most impactful work, “A robotics and computer-aided procedure for defect evaluation in bridge inspection” (63 citations), pioneers a transformative approach to civil engineering: integrating mobile robots and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to capture otherwise inaccessible imagery, combined with wireless accelerometers for global, automated vibration measurements. This sequential procedure enables remote data transfer and significantly enhances defect and damage detection in bridges, offering a safer, more efficient alternative to traditional manual inspections. Potenza further contributes to the mechanics of cable-suspended robots, developing exact elasto-static models for point mass manipulators with elastic, sagging cables. His formulations account for cable weight and elasticity, providing precise solutions for planar and spatial systems—critical for applications in construction, inspection, and heavy lifting. Through these contributions, Potenza bridges theoretical robotics with real-world structural assessment, demonstrating how advanced sensing and automation can modernize aging infrastructure monitoring. His work is essential reading for researchers in field robotics, non-destructive evaluation, and cable-driven parallel mechanisms.