Michele Mastella successfully defends his PhD thesis on Neuromorphic Embedded Processing for Touch

Michele Mastella, a PhD candidate in Bio-inspired Circuits & Systems at the Faculty of Science & Engineering, successfully defended his thesis on Neuromorphic Embedded Processing for Touch on 10 September 2024.

Mastella’s research focused on enhancing tactile perception in robots and prosthetic devices, which currently struggle to replicate the nuanced sense of touch found in humans. By drawing inspiration from the somatosensory nervous system, the thesis explored possible ways neural networks can be designed to understand stimuli coming from pressure sensors, in analogy with the human skin. This work aimed to improve the functionality of artificial systems by enabling them to perform tasks such as object manipulation and texture discrimination more effectively.

He had a smooth defence, and the commission provided him with insightful questions that boosted his confidence.

With the successful defence of his thesis, Mastella joins other top researchers in his field, ready to make significant contributions to creating a blueprint for future-proof computing at CogniGron.

This research lays the groundwork for future advancements in artificial tactile systems by showing how biological principles can inform the design of more efficient and capable artificial agents.

Congratulations to Michele Mastella and to his supervisors, Elisabetta Chicca and Niels Taatgen, for an outstanding thesis.