PhD Student in Robotics, Lausanne

Lorenzo Vignoli

PhD in Robotics at EPFL CREATE Lab. I work on interaction control of soft robots, modeling and sensing of compliant structures, and design of bio-inspired robots.

Portrait of Lorenzo Vignoli, PhD researcher at EPFL CREATE Lab
01 Research

Research Interests

My interests lie in the integration of compliant control and machine learning for the design, modeling, and control of soft and continuum mechanical systems, with a particular focus on bio-inspired robotics where rigid-body paradigms are limited. I am especially drawn to embodied intelligence and impedance-shaped interaction, exploring how the natural dynamics of compliant bodies can be harnessed instead of canceled, to achieve dexterous manipulation and adaptive locomotion. My goal is to develop principled frameworks for perception and control that enable robust and versatile behavior in contact-rich environments.

  1. 01

    Interaction Control of Soft Robots

    Control architectures that exploit the natural dynamics of soft and continuum systems instead of suppressing them.

  2. 02

    Modeling and Sensing of Compliant Structures

    Hybrid analytical and data-driven models for proprioception and state estimation of mechanically intelligent bodies.

  3. 03

    Design of Bio-Inspired Robots

    Robotic platforms drawn from aquatic and terrestrial animals, with morphology and control co-designed for adaptive behavior.

02 Education

Education

  • PhD in Robotics, CREATE Lab, EPFL

    Nov 2025 – Present
  • Master Thesis & Swiss-European Mobility Programme (SEMP), EPFL

    6.0 / 6.0
  • MSc Data Science for Industrial Engineering, Politecnico di Milano

    110 / 110 cum laude
  • Alta Scuola Politecnica, Multidisciplinary Honors Program

  • BSc Mechanical Engineering, Politecnico di Milano

    110 / 110 cum laude
03 Contact

Reach Out

Email is the fastest way. Always happy to discuss research and collaborations.