CURRICULA AND THEMES

The research topics that the candidates can choose for admission to the Ph.D. program are organized into six curricula. Go to the admission page to download the list of the research topics available for the first call of 2024/2025.

1. Robotics and Intelligent Machines in hostile and unstructured environments
2. Robotics and Intelligent Machines for Industry 4.0
3. Robotics and Intelligent Machines for inspection and maintenance of infrastructures 
4. Robotics and Intelligent Machines for agrifood 
5. Robotics and Intelligent Machines for healthcare and wellness of persons
6. Robotics and Intelligent Machines for mobility and autonomous vehicles

Curricula share a wide range of enabling technologies that include:

• technologies for continuous learning and the integration of perception and actuation with natural and artificial intelligence, which allow operators to make use of the increased machine capabilities by valuing the indispensable human cognitive and operational skills;
• technologies to increase the intuitiveness, usability, and ergonomics of human-robot interfaces, which allow the effective use of robots and intelligent machines by people without specific training;
• technologies to facilitate the physical and social interaction of robots with the environment and with surrounding people, using new materials, sensors and perception systems, actuation systems, computational and cognitive architectures, mechanical architectures, and control architectures to ensure autonomy, stability, and safety;
• technologies for the creation of new mechatronic devices for dexterous manipulation and locomotion for all types of use and in particular in uneven terrains and aerial, marine, underground, and space environments;
• technologies for the sustainable mobility of self-driving and semi-autonomous vehicles in urban areas with learning and adaptation skills, as well as intelligent traffic control in extra-urban areas;
  technologies to improve the energetic autonomy and resilience to imperfect communications, as well as the ability to communicate at high speed with reduced latency in realistic situations encountered in application scenarios;
• technologies to reduce the ecological footprint of robotic systems by exploiting new forms of energy obtainable from the environment and environmentally friendly materials.

The training activities of the DRIM doctorate course are entirely in English to increase the attractiveness of the Ph.D. program and favor the participation of students from all over the world. In addition, universities and research institutions belonging to the DRIM Ph.D. program offer Italian language and culture classes to students from abroad to allow for better integration and inclusion in their daily life.