Giovanni Legnani

About

Giovanni Legnani is a prominent Italian robotics researcher whose career has centered on industrial robot manipulators, control systems, and calibration methodologies. His work spans trajectory tracking control, geometric calibration, friction modeling, and force/velocity control, establishing him as a leading authority on improving the accuracy and performance of industrial robotic systems. Among his most influential contributions is his experimental investigation of trajectory tracking control strategies for SCARA robots (126 citations), alongside comparative studies of three distinct calibration algorithms for geometric parameter identification (76 citations). His geometrical interpretation of the AX=XB matrix equation for hand-to-sensor calibration (75 citations) offered an elegant and practically significant mathematical framework widely adopted by subsequent researchers. Legnani has made sustained contributions to understanding and compensating for joint friction — a notoriously complex challenge in robotics — developing increasingly sophisticated models that incorporate temperature effects (51 citations, 35 citations), a factor often overlooked in earlier literature. His iterative-learning hybrid force/velocity control approach (37 citations) further demonstrates his commitment to practical industrial applications. More recently, Legnani has extended his expertise into rehabilitation robotics, co-authoring research on powered exoskeletons for spinal cord injury patients (43 citations), reflecting a broader humanitarian dimension to his engineering legacy.

Research Focus

Key Achievements

Top Papers

1. 1
   On the trajectory tracking control of industrial SCARA robot manipulators

   126 citations · 2002
2. 2
   Three methodologies for the calibration of industrial manipulators: Experimental results on a SCARA robot

   76 citations · 2000
3. 3
   Hand to sensor calibration: A geometrical interpretation of the matrix equation

   75 citations · 2005
4. 4
   Friction compensation in hybrid force/velocity control of industrial manipulators

   65 citations · 2006
5. 5
   Optimal design and application of a low-cost wire-sensor system for the kinematic calibration of industrial manipulators

   52 citations · 2013
6. 6
   Dynamic and Friction Parameters of an Industrial Robot: Identification, Comparison and Repetitiveness Analysis

   51 citations · 2021
7. 7
   Friction modeling with temperature effects for industrial robot manipulators

   51 citations · 2015
8. 8
   Assistive powered exoskeleton for complete spinal cord injury: correlations between walking ability and exoskeleton control

   43 citations · 2019
9. 9
   Iterative-Learning Hybrid Force/Velocity Control for Contour Tracking

   37 citations · 2010
10. 10
    Modelling the temperature in joint friction of industrial manipulators

    35 citations · 2017

Key Collaborators

Contact & Links