Martina Maselli

About

Martina Maselli is an Italian robotics and biomedical engineering researcher whose work bridges soft robotics, smart textiles, and wearable sensing technologies. Her most widely recognized contribution is a comprehensive review of actuation technologies for soft robot grippers and manipulators (2021), which has garnered over 210 citations and established her as a key voice in the rapidly expanding field of soft robotics. Alongside this, her research on piezoresistive textile strain sensors—including hysteresis compensation models and wearable goniometers—has advanced the design of comfortable, low-cost tools for motor rehabilitation and biomechanical monitoring, collectively attracting nearly 115 citations across multiple studies. Maselli has also made notable strides in applying soft robotics to biomedical innovation, exploring artificial organs, implantable cardiac assist devices, and physical simulators that leverage elastomeric, muscle-like materials. Her more recent work on laser-induced graphene sensors and self-sensing pneumatic artificial muscles demonstrates a sustained commitment to enabling proprioception in soft robotic systems. Through her diverse portfolio—spanning sensor characterization, variable stiffness mechanisms, and cardiac wall design—Maselli exemplifies a researcher who consistently translates fundamental engineering principles into real-world solutions for healthcare and human-robot interaction.

Research Focus

Key Achievements

Top Papers

1. 1
   Actuation Technologies for Soft Robot Grippers and Manipulators: A Review

   211 citations · 2021
2. 2
   Model-Based Compensation of Rate-Dependent Hysteresis in a Piezoresistive Strain Sensor

   46 citations · 2018
3. 3
   Development and characterization of a multilayer matrix textile sensor for interface pressure measurements

   36 citations · 2017
4. 4
   Warp-Knitted Textile as a Strain Sensor: Characterization Procedure and Application in a Comfortable Wearable Goniometer

   32 citations · 2017
5. 5
   Soft robotics for physical simulators, artificial organs and implantable assistive devices

   21 citations · 2023
6. 6
   Soft Robots Proprioception Through Stretchable Laser‐Induced Graphene Strain Sensors

   11 citations · 2025
7. 7
   Design methodology for the development of variable stiffness devices based on layer jamming transition

   9 citations · 2021
8. 8
   A Self-sensing Inverse Pneumatic Artificial Muscle

   8 citations · 2022
9. 9
   A piezoresistive flexible sensor to detect soft actuator deformation

   5 citations · 2019
10. 10
    Design of a Soft Robotic Artificial Cardiac Wall

    4 citations · 2025

Key Collaborators

Contact & Links