Contact person: Prof. Paolo Mattavelli (e-mail)

The PhD Programme in Mechatronics couples two different research areas: Industrial Engineering and Information Engineering and is the most cross-disciplinary. This programme is oriented to create conceptual designers of automatic machines. In particular the major programme educational objectives address:

• the functional design of mechanic and mechatronic systems (kinematics and dynamics of machines, mechanisms and manipulators; machine design optimization models and procedures; modeling and state estimation of flexible-link mechanisms and manipulators);
• the design of automatic machines, and robots (simulation and prototyping of industrial robotic and mechatronic systems; serial and parallel robotics; robot calibration and performance analysis; cable-driven robots; master-slave robotic systems for haptic teleoperation; rehabilitation robots);
• the control techniques for mechatronic systems (digital control of electric drives for robots, control of flexible-link mechanisms and manipulators, control systems for internet-based teleoperated tasks, cable and wireless industrial field busses, computational vision applied to autonomous robotics, adaptive control in vehicles);
• power electronics and power conversion systems (electronic interfaces for renewable-energy sources, micro-controllers and DSP in industrial electronics, soft-switching converter topologies and control;
• electric, hydraulic, and pneumatic actuators (permanent magnet motors, high-efficiency motors, electric traction motors, sensorless actuators, hydraulic and pneumatic actuators modeling and control).

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Contact person: Prof. Alessandro Persona (e-mail)

The PhD Programme in Industral plants and Logistics arises from the recognition that manufacturing companies nowadays need high qualified professionals with cross sectional competences linked with the design and management of the industrial plant, seen by an holistic point of view.

In particular students enrolled in the Logistics Programme will be engaged in high quality research projects related to the modeling and design of complex logistic systems, such as integrated supply chains, distribution networks and flexible and integrated manufacturing systems. Education activities will concern:

• supply chain operations and modeling
  – logistics strategy
  – distribution network design and optimization
  – product packaging design and testing
  – transport and person/asset info-mobility management
  – industrial plants maintenance
  – reliability analysis of machines/equipments
  – reverse logistics
  These research topics are strategic in nowadays industrial environments, characterized by highly customized products (the ones that can survive in Italy) and time-oriented production systems, which need to respond quickly and efficiently to market demand, variables strongly affected by logistic choices (i.e. the way components, sub-assemblies and products are supplied and delivered, outsourcing decision vs. internalization, service operations and transportation modalities).