The research focuses on industrial communication networks, that are real-time communication systems deployed in several application contexts such as, for example, factory automation, motion control, process automation, networked control systems, building automation and automotive systems.These specific types of networks have to cope with the tight requirements typical of the industrial scenario. Particularly, they have to provide real-time performance as well as high reliability and robustness. The main research topics are the following:

The semiconductor industry is one of the most technology-evolving and capital-intensive market sectors. The speed and effectiveness with which new products are developed have an important influence on market competitiveness. Efficient control of manufacturing operations is well recognized to be a source of competitive advantage.

Efficient use of energy is one of the main strategic measures not only for the conservation of fossil energy resources but also for abatement of air pollution and the slowing down of anthropogenic climate change. The requirement of primary energy to cool and to heat buildings is an important part of the overall energy consumption in Western countries, summing up to about 30% of the U.S. and European global energy consumption, due to the increasing use of air conditioning units for cooling residential and office buildings during summer.

The research activity mostly concerns the development of models and control algorithms for vehicles and vehicle components. Special emphasis is given on the use of virtual prototyping tools, including hardware- and human-in-the-loop tools. The activity is focused on four main topics:

Large frame optical gyroscopes based on He-Ne ring laser (or gyrolaser) technology are presently the most sensitive devices for measuring inertial rotational motion. The use of such systems has been considered in the past for different fundamental Physics applications including experimental tests of fundamental symmetries, axions detection, test of metric theories of gravitation, and gravitational waves detectors.  Moreover, ring lasers have been recently proposed as the core element of an innovative portable six-component sensor for designed seismological field studies: e.g.

Tokamaks are among the most promising devices for obtaining nuclear fusion energy from a high-temperature, ionized gas (plasma).In tokamaks, there are two components of the confining magnetic field. A set of toroidal field coils, evenly spaced around the torus provides a strong toroidal magnetic field that is kept constant during the whole discharge and provides for plasma stability. The second component, the poloidal field, is responsible for the equilibrium of the plasma. It is produced by the plasma current and can be shaped by using the set of Poloidal Field Coils.