Papers
179
Total Citations
4,834
H-Index
39
About
Paolo Rocco is a prominent robotics researcher whose work spans industrial robot control, human-robot collaboration, and safety systems for manufacturing environments. Based at Politecnico di Milano, his career reflects a remarkable evolution from foundational control theory to cutting-edge collaborative automation. Rocco's early contributions addressed critical theoretical gaps in industrial practice. His 1996 analysis of PID control stability for robot arms (207 citations) provided long-overdue mathematical grounding for the field's most widely used technique. He subsequently advanced impedance control for elastic-joint manipulators (118 citations), tackling the real-world complexities of industrial hardware including friction and joint flexibility. His most influential work focuses on human-robot safety and collaboration. His 2015 paper on safety metrics in collaborative manufacturing environments has accumulated 391 citations, establishing foundational frameworks still referenced today. Complementary contributions include his pioneering "danger field" and "kinetostatic danger field" concepts (113–114 citations each), which quantify robot risk based on posture and velocity. More recently, he has addressed intelligent scheduling of collaborative assembly tasks using Petri nets and human activity prediction, reflecting a systems-level vision for future smart manufacturing. Across his portfolio, Rocco's research uniquely bridges rigorous control theory with practical, human-centered industrial deployment.
Research Focus
Key Achievements
Top Papers
- 1
- 2Stability of PID control for industrial robot arms207 citations · 1996
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- 4Impedance Control for Elastic Joints Industrial Manipulators118 citations · 2004
- 5Safety Assessment and Control of Robotic Manipulators Using Danger Field114 citations · 2013
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- 8Safety Control of Industrial Robots Based on a Distributed Distance Sensor102 citations · 2014
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