Max Robotics — Global Service Robot Directory + US Certification

About

Michele Tona is an emerging robotics researcher whose work centers on the motion planning and control of underactuated robotic systems, with a particular focus on differentially flat robots. His research addresses one of the fundamental challenges in modern robotics: how to design lightweight, cost-effective manipulators that retain high dexterity by employing fewer actuators than degrees of freedom, while still achieving precise, oscillation-free motion. Tona's most impactful contributions — each garnering 8 citations since their 2024 publication — introduce innovative trajectory planning methods, including a Laplace transform approach, to govern the notoriously difficult passive joints of planar underactuated robots. His work systematically investigates how joint stiffness and motion timing influence trajectory behavior, and he has extended differential flatness theory to three-dimensional spatial robots, broadening its applicability to industrially relevant configurations. Complementing this, his 2022 study on identifying joint and link compliance in industrial manipulators (5 citations) demonstrates a strong grounding in practical, experimental robotics. With a research portfolio spanning theoretical foundations, trajectory optimization through via points, and spatial robot design, Tona is making meaningful contributions to the field of flexible, efficient robotic manipulation — work of growing relevance as industry demands ever-lighter and smarter robotic solutions.