Daniele Leonardis

Daniele Leonardis serves as Associate Professor of Applied Mechanics at the Institute of Mechanical Intelligence (IIM) of the Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies in Pisa since October 2025. His research centers on wearable haptic interfaces and hand exoskeletons for clinical neurorehabilitation, virtual reality, and teleoperation applications.

His primary research domains include:

• Development of miniaturized actuators for high-fidelity haptic rendering in wearable devices
• Clinical neurorehabilitation using serious games for children with Cerebral Palsy
• Integration of tactile feedback in teleoperation systems for complex manipulation tasks
• Soft exoskeletal devices for movement assistance in spinal/neurological patients
• Industrial robotics for railway infrastructure inspection

Leonardis leads significant research initiatives:

• Coordinator and scientific director of the completed TELOS project (2024) for VR-based cerebral palsy rehabilitation
• Scientific director for SSSA in the European SUN project on augmented reality and haptic feedback
• Director of the SmartNest third-party research project
• Collaborator in TATTO, LEARN, and AVATAR projects
• Supervisor for RFI's mobile railway inspection system design

His recent publications (2024-2025) demonstrate concentrated advancements in teleoperation interfaces, soft exoskeleton validation, and novel actuation methods for tactile feedback, with strong clinical and industrial validation components. He actively disseminates research through editorial roles in leading robotics journals and public demonstrations at international conferences.

As founding partner of Next-Generation-Robotics spin-off, Leonardis bridges academic research and commercial applications in railway inspection robotics, reflecting his commitment to translational impact.