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About

Michele Marolla is an emerging researcher specializing in aerial robotics, autonomous systems, and non-destructive testing (NDT) for industrial inspection applications. His work sits at the intersection of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), robotic manipulation, and infrastructure maintenance, with a particular focus on developing intelligent solutions for challenging real-world environments. Marolla's most significant contributions center on the design and deployment of semi-autonomous aerial platforms capable of performing contact-based inspections on critical infrastructure, including electrical power lines and concrete structures. His development of tilting drone systems equipped with articulated robotic manipulators represents a meaningful advance in unmanned aerial manipulator (UAM) technology, enabling precise physical interaction with surfaces that were previously difficult or dangerous to inspect. By integrating human supervisory control frameworks, his systems strike a practical balance between automation and operator oversight. With citations accumulating across multiple 2024–2025 publications — totaling 16 citations across four papers — Marolla's research is gaining early traction within the robotics and industrial inspection communities. His work addresses pressing needs for cost-effective, safer alternatives to conventional manual inspection methods, positioning him as a promising contributor to the evolving field of intelligent aerial robotics and smart infrastructure monitoring.