Academic Career and Research Areas

The research activity of Professor Piazza (*1987) focuses on the areas of rehabilitation and assistive robotics. Her main research interests include the study of human movement, the design of artificial devices based on soft robotics technologies, the development of innovative control algorithms to address different levels of amputation and their assessment for robotic and prosthetic applications.

Prof. Piazza received a B.Sc. in Biomedical Engineering, a M.S. in Automation and Robotics Engineering and a PhD degree in Robotics (summa cum laude, 2019) from the University of Pisa (Italy). She subsequently moved to Chicago (USA) where she worked as a postdoctoral researcher at the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Northwestern University and the Regenstein Foundation Center for Bionic Medicine, Shirley Ryan AbilityLab (former Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago). Since 2020, Prof. Piazza is assistant professor at TUM.

Awards

  • PhD Talent Award, University of Pisa (2019)
  • Dr. Kanako Miura Award, IEEE-RAS International Conference on Humanoid Robots (2016)
  • Best Paper Award, IEEE-RAS International Conference on Humanoid Robots (2012)

Piazza C, Simon A M, Turner K L, Miller L A, Catalano M G, Bicchi A, Hargrove L J: "Exploring augmented grasping capabilities in a multi-synergistic soft bionic hand". Journal of Neuroengineering and Rehabilitation. 2020; 17 (1): 1-16.

Abstract

Piazza C, Rossi M, Catalano M G, Bicchi A, Hargrove L J: "Evaluation of a Simultaneous Myoelectric Control Strategy for a Multi-DoF Transradial Prosthesis". IEEE Transactions on Neural Systems and Rehabilitation Engineering. 2020; 28 (10): 2286-2295. 

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Piazza C, Grioli G, Catalano M G, Bicchi A: "A Century of Robotic Hands". Annual Review of Control, Robotics, and Autonomous Systems. 2019; 2: 1–32.

Abstract

Piazza C, Catalano M G, Godfrey S B, Rossi M, Grioli G, Bianchi M, Zhao K, Bicchi A: "The softhand pro-h: a hybrid body-controlled, electrically powered hand prosthesis for daily living and working". IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine. 2017; 24 (4): 87-101.

Abstract

Piazza C, Della Santina C, Gasparri G M, Catalano M G, Garabini M, Grioli G, Bicchi A: "Toward an adaptive foot for natural walking". 2016 IEEE-RAS 16th International Conference on Humanoid Robots (Humanoids). Cancun, Mexico. 15-17 Nov. 2016: 1204-1210.

Abstract