Bionics Engineering

Overview

Key Features

In the progress of their studies, the students of the Bionics Engineering degree from University of Pisa will gather fundamentals of science and technology of biorobotics and neural engineering. They will be also progressively trained to a multi-disciplinary research attitude by means of a fruitful dialogue with scientists from different research fields, such as medicine, biology, neuroscience, as well as with clinicians in the field of rehabilitation and surgery, pioneers of emerging industrials sectors and social scientists. Eventually, the students will enrich their background with specific skills in the following engineering domains:

• mechatronics,
• robotics,
• biomedical robotics,
• micro/nano technologies
• telerobotics,
• biomimetics and bio-inspired design of robotic platforms,
• neuroprostheses,
• wearable and implantable technologies, and
• advanced simulation environments.

The vision is that modern bionics engineers shall be able to address the entire process leading to the development of a new bionic device, i.e., moving from the user needs to the design, development and validation in a relevant environment of a prototype. Grounded on this vision, the course will be mastered as a balanced mix of theoretical/traditional classes, hands-on sessions, and research activities in world-class research laboratories. In particular, the students will be challenged with experiences such as:

• Design, development and testing of social robots and smart environments for assisted living, active ageing and wellbeing;
• Design, development and testing of neural prostheses, based on of the use of neural tissue engineering and neural interfaces;
• Design, development and testing of artificial and bioartificial organs;
• Development of systems able to mimic the natural senses;
• Design, development and testing of micro/nano robots;
• Analysis of brain functions and development of novel methodologies for processing brain images;