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Design Week at the Politecnico

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Milan Design Week is back again this year to bring the city to life with events and installations, including ideas by Alumni from the Politecnico. Let’s take a closer look! 

FLOATING FOREST 
Darsena, Viale Gabriele D’Annunzio 20 – Milan – from 7 to 12 June, from 10 am to 10 pm 

Alumnus Stefano Boeri will create a floating forest right in the centre of Milan, at the Darsena dock. This multisensory floating installation, designed for Timberland, is an independent ecosystem on the Darsena water, with 610 trees and over 30 different species (including Maple, Birch and Apple; shrubs such as the Black Chokeberry, Hydrangea, Oregon Grape and Mock Orange; perennial herbs such as Mexican Feather Grass, Chinese Silver Grass, Windflower, Daylily, Verbena and Pampas Grass), intended to encourage biodiversity by activating the environmental benefits of urban forestation, in connection with the other green spaces in Milan. The objective of the Floating Forest installation is not only to promote new forms of environmental responsibility and new ways of occupying and transforming urban spaces, but also to provide a place of meeting and reconciliation between nature and citizens.

VISIT TO THE GIANFRANCO FERRÉ RESEARCH CENTER 
Gianfranco Ferré Research Centre - Via Tortona, 37 - Milano 9 June 2022, 3 - 8pm 

The Politecnico di Milano opens the Gianfranco Ferré Research Centre to the public. The Centre, located within the premises of the former Gianfranco Ferré Foundationis dedicated to the work of the fashion designer, who graduated from the Politecnico di Milano in 1969. The researchers at the Politecnico di Milano will guide visitors within the spaces designed by architect Franco Raggi and the archive, including sketches, technical drawings, photos, clothes and accessories. 

For information 

Discover more: Gianfranco Ferré research centre set up at Politecnico di Milano

ARCTIC-NORDIC-ALPINE – BY SNØHETTA 
Atrium of the School of Architecture of the Politecnico di Milano - Via Ampère, 2 - Milano - Opening: 7 June 2022 

An exhibition about contemporary architecture in vulnerable landscapes presenting pioneering projects by the internationally renowned architecture and design firm Snøhetta and investigating the impact new creations could have on these extreme geographic climatic environments. Inaugurated by the lecture “Nature as the Client”, by Kjetil Trædal Thorsendel, co-founder of the Norwegian architecture firm Snøhetta. 

For information 

THE INVENTION OF A LANGUAGE. FRANCO PURINI AND THE THEME OF ORIGIN, 1964-1976 
Galleria del Progetto of the School of Architecture of the Politecnico di Milano - Via Ampère, 2 - Milano - Opening: 7 June 2022 

A wide selection of plates illustrating projects, sketches and studies appear in the exhibition that identify drawing as the privileged tool for thinking about construction, the city, the landscape, as well as the place from where the ideas of architecture originate. Inaugurated by the lecture “The invention of a language” by Franco Purini. 

For information 

PIERLUIGI CERRI: ALLESTIMENTI. IDEE, FORME, INTENZIONI 
Spazio Mostre Archivi Storici del Politecnico di Milano – via Candiani, 72 – Milano 

The exhibition offers a selection of 32 installations by Pierluigi Cerri, studied and redesigned thanks to a meticolous archival work. A graduate from the Politecnico di Milano, Cerri taught here with Umberto Eco “Semiotics of architecture” (Faculty of Architecture, 1969-71) and from 2000 to 2010 held the Laboratory of Interior Architecture at the School of Civil Architecture. 

For information 

SELF-PORTRAIT WITH NEIGHBOURHOOD: CITTÀ STUDI 
Piazza Leonardo da Vinci – Milano - 9 June 2022, 11am - 6pm 

A participatory action in Piazza Leonardo da Vinci: inhabitants, visitors and onlookers will collaborate in the construction of a collective story that will show, through the recomposition of “fragments”, the identity of the place, present and future. 

For information 

SITUATED VOCABULARIES. RE-FRAMING PARTICIPATION WITH FRAGILE COMMUNITIES 
OFF CAMPUS Nolo – Mercato Comunale, Viale Monza 54 – Milano 

A 4-day programme (exhibition + hybrid activities) concerning 'Vocabolario di Quartiere', the participatory design project developed at Off Campus Nolo. 

DESIGN X DESIGNERS 
Building B2 - Bovisa Campus - Via Durando 10 – Milano 

A large exhibition of projects from the whole Design System of Politecnico di Milano: School of Design, Department of Design and POLI.design. The exhibition highlights multiple design sectors: from industrial product to fashion, from interior and furniture design to communication, without excluding services, brand and strategy, transportation and design engineering. 

WE ARE! POLIMI TALENTS 
Salone Satellite – Fiera Milano – Rho 

An exhibition presenting the Politecnico design talents, recognised with prizes and mentions over the past four years, who were called upon to tell their stories through prototypes and projects. 

FROM DIGITAL TO DIGITALL 
Salone del Mobile – Fiera Milano – Rho 

The Design System of the Politecnico di Milano presents its didactic and educational offer and its research and service opportunities through an interactive exhibition. The visitors will find, and be able to collaborate with, students and collaborators of the School and of the Department of Design who will be grappling with the realisation and finalisation of a physical object linked to the book in its primitive, analogue form. 

For information on the many other initiatives: https://dipartimentodesign.polimi.it/it/magazine/salone-del-mobile-2022   

Credits header and homepage: https://www.finestresullarte.info/

twin home

Robots that increasingly resemble ourselves: is the era of anthropomorphic machines?

Posted on | by admin

Science fantasy aside, state-of-the-art robotics (together with increasing knowledge of the mechanisms that regulate the human body) already offers us technologies of great utility in the healthcare setting : prostheses, exoskeletons and devices for rehabilitation and healthcare, designed by teams who masterfully mix engineering, medicine, design and dialogue with patients (namely those who will use such devices).

Do you remember Hannes, the robotic hand? Developed by INAIL [National Institute for Insurance against Accidents at Work] and IIT (the Italian Institute of Technology), it restores 90% of the lost functionality for people who have un-dergone arm amputations. Its industrial design was conceived by ddpstudio, founded by three Alumni: Lorenzo De Bartolomeis, Gabriele Diamanti and Filippo Poli. It is precisely the interdisciplinary origin of its design that won Hannes the 2018 ADI Design Index award for innovation: «Due to the quality of your work which consequently represents value for design and for our country”; and, in 2020, the coveted Compasso d’Oro award.

twin team
Credits: ddpstudio

According to the reasoning behind the award, “The design is proven to be an essential tool for helping people in difficulty to regain control of their future. Technology and aesthetics help to overcome psychological distress and physical handicap”. And, in the words of Marco Zambelli – who lost his right hand in a workplace accident more than 40 years ago at the age of 16 – this is precisely what Hannes effectively does. He is the “patient zero” for whom Hannes was designed. He told us about the first time he used it: “I got emotional. I realised that I could regain my right hand”

Discover the whole story behind Hannes on Map

Now Hannes will have a little brother, based on the design conceived at the same ddpstudio.

TWIN, THE EXOSKELETON THAT MAKES IT POSSIBLE TO WALK AGAIN

Twin, the robot exoskeleton, is a device for the neuromotor rehabilitation of patients with locomotive and balance deficits arising as a result of spinal injuries or strokes. In short, it allows patients with spinal cord injuries to walk inde-pendently. Like Hannes, it has been designed by INAIL, IIT and, for the industrial design, ddpstudio. Again, it owes its recent fame to its design: it is still in the developmental phase but it is already gaining recognition from around the world.

From overseas, the prestigious Good design Award in the Robotics category. The award was given by the Chicago Athenaeum, comprising the Museum of Architecture and Design in the same US city and the European Centre for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies. In its “homeland”, Twin has been included in the 2021ADI Design Index 2021, in the design for people category, it has qualified for the final selection of the 2022 Compasso d’Oro, and will be on display at the ADI Design Museum from mid-June.

Lastly, it received the 2022 IF International Forum Design award, in the Medicine/Health Product category, awarded to the designers who collaborated in the development of the device. TheIF Design Award is considered one of the most prestigious design awards in the world. TWIN was selected from among 11,000 applications submitted by 57 countries and assessed by a panel of 132 members, made up of independent experts from all over the world.

twin
Credits: Inail

AN X-RAY OF OUR TWIN: HOW IS IT DONE?

Twin is a wearable autonomous robotic device , that allows people with full or partial spinal injuries to walk again. Its technology is capable of assessing rehabilitative progress and setting the level of assistance at all times; it uses the patient’s residual movement to help them walk, intervening – only if necessary – to support them and help them correctly take steps. When the patient leans forward, Twin moves. To stop, the user moves slightly in the opposite direction, bringing their torso back to an upright position. The “cruising” speed is around 2 or 2.5 km/h, more or less half that of a healthy subject.

Credits: ddpstudio

It is conceived to be used in combination with a wheelchair, at least for now. It makes it possible to move easily from the sitting position to the standing position, can be disassembled and is easy to put on in a few minutes, while remain-ing seated. It is height-adjustable and can support users weighing up to 110 kg.

It is made up of a rigid structure that keeps the patient in an upright position and has 4 motors, two on the hips and two on the knees. The pelvis is a carbon fibre shell containing Twin’s brain and heart – or its control system and batter-ies. Its range allows for up to 4 hours of continuous walking.

It is the fruit of a shared design process which involved a multidisciplinary team of patients, clinicians, researchers, engineers and designers in all phases of its development.

“It is a very long process, which started in 2014 and is still not complete”, says Gabriele Diamanti. “And it is a design-centric project, that is, it’s based on patient needs: in fact, in the initial phase we participated in various focus groups with paraplegic patients and visited their care centres. From there, the mechanical concept was born and then, piece by piece, the technology was implemented.

Various prototypes were created over the years, each being tested with patients to detect problems and opportunities in terms of its implementation. There is still a long road ahead before Twin is completely finalised: “The award-winning prototype has already been surpassed”, adds De Bartolomeis. “For us it is strange, because what seemed novel to eve-ryone else, actually has now newer form and functionality. Since it is a research project, the team is working on a platform that will, over the next three years, give life to solutions with various applications and functions (obviously these cannot be published yet)”.

WOULD YOU GO FOR A WALK, TO THE SUPERMARKET OR TO THE BAR WEARING AN EXOSKELETON?

Once finalised, Twin will undergo clinical trials, certification and then be released to the public. And, once again, it will encounter human beings: how will it be received?

twin
Credits: Web Marketing Festival

“Working on this project for years and speaking with many people, patients and doctors, we have realised that the response cannot be taken for granted”, says Diamanti."Patients can have preconceptions, which may be either too positive or too negative, in relation to the idea of using an exoskeleton, and this influences test results to a great ex-tent. There are patients who reject it, because they ask themselves: do I need to wear that thing? I can go much faster with my chair that you “bipeds”. Because when it is born, technology is still behind nature. Other patients have a lot of faith in it, because it unlocks the possibility of interacting, looking at people in the eyes at the same height. It is partly down to habit and partly down to attitudes towards innovation. Another major issue is prejudice at the social level: wheelchairs themselves are now considered normal, but 50 years ago everyone would stare at a person going down the street in a wheelchair. Innovation is not only technological, but also cultural. When everyone stares at you while you do your shopping with a robotic exoskeleton, there may be a certain degree of embarrassment. Those who suf-fered their injuries a long time ago also have a different approach to those who have just been injured. And it also de-pends on the type and location of the injury; depending on which vertebrae are involved, it changes the degree of con-trol that one has over their body”.

Diamanti concludes:

“In such a varied and technical working team, the education that we have received at the Politecnico makes us feel at home”.

Credits home: Web Marketing Festival
Credits header: iF Design Award

Professioni del futuro: il Poli guarda avanti

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Il mondo cambia e con esso cambiano anche le persone che lo fanno funzionare.  Se è vero che i corsi “storici” del Politecnico di Milano continuano a offrire gli strumenti per affrontare la crescente complessità della nostra epoca (come testimoniano i dati occupazionali che rappresentano gli Alumni tra i più apprezzati professionisti in tutto il mondo), è altrettanto vero che, dal confronto con il mondo delle aziende, della tecnologia e dell’innovazione e con le nuove generazioni di studenti, stanno emergendo nuove idee e nuove esigenze. L’Ateneo si chiede (anche) di cosa si occuperanno gli Alumni di domani, del prossimo decennio, nel corso della loro carriera, e come potranno continuare a dare un contributo significativo nella gestione delle grandi sfide che ci attendono. Questo porta sia all’aggiornamento dei corsi tradizionali, sia alla nascita di nuovi corsi di laurea: due partiranno nel prossimo semestre. 

LA PRIMA LAUREA IN ITALIA IN INGEGNERIA DEL SUPERCALCOLO… 

… o, più correttamente, in High Performance Computing Engineering. Sarà il primo corso di laurea magistrale in Italia dedicato al calcolo ad alte prestazioni e alle sue molteplici applicazioni, dalla sostenibilità energetica alla climatologia, dalla genomica alla medicina e alla farmacologia, dalla chimica alla finanza, dalla biomeccanica computazionale all’aerospazio. 

“La capacità di elaborare una grande quantità di dati ci permette infatti di definire nuovi scenari, di eseguire simulazioni, di sviluppare nuovi modelli, come accade, per esempio, in campo medico. Sono tanti i settori in cui l’HPC può fare la differenza. Servono quindi nuove competenze e nuove professionalità”,

commenta il Rettore. 

Caratterizzato per la forte interdisciplinarietà, il corso formerà ingegneri dalla solida preparazione nelle principali tecnologie e architetture informatiche per il supercalcolo, nel quantum computing e nella modellazione matematico-statistica di problemi complessi. L’insegnamento sarà in lingua inglese.  

MANAGER ORIENTATI AGLI OBIETTIVI DI SVILUPPO SOSTENIBILE  

Altro caso unico nel panorama della formazione universitaria in Europa, il nuovo Master of Science in Trasformative Sustainability nasce dalla collaborazione tra Politecnico di Milano e Università Bocconi. L’obiettivo è formare professionisti in gradi di guidare le imprese da una prospettiva fortemente integrata, innovativa e multidisciplinare sulla sostenibilità. 

“La tecnologia è il fattore abilitante delle grandi trasformazioni in atto, come nel caso della sostenibilità in tutte le sue accezioni”, commenta il Rettore. “Impatta in modo decisivo sui processi di business e orienta imprese ed enti pubblici verso piani di sviluppo complessi di cui gli obiettivi di sviluppo sostenibile sono elementi fondativi. Da qui la necessità di combinare le competenze tecniche e formative dei nostri due atenei su tematiche chiave per la crescita economica e sociale”. 

Polytechnic scientists for global challenges

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The Politecnico di Milano has obtained from the European Commission important funding for two research projects: one for the fight against breast cancer and the other for the fight against climate change.  

This takes the form of two ERC Advanced Grant, funding awarded by the European Research Council to researchers well-established in their field, in order to carry out innovative and high-risk projects. The selection for this type of funding is very competitive: this year, out of 1735 projects submitted, only 14.6% obtained the funds.  

SUPERCOMPUTERS THAT CONSUME 5000 TIMES LESS ENERGY  

Daniele Ielminii, professor at the Department of Electronics, Information and Bioengineering, will leadANIMATE (ANalogue In-Memory computing with Advanced device Technology), a project that aims to develop a new computing concept to reduce energy consumption in machine learning. It is a critical issue for stopping climate change: we do not think about it when we use a computer, but the energy cost of the actions we perform on the internet, starting with the everyday things, is very high. Data centres, which currently meet most of the world's AI needs, now consume about 1% of global energy demand, but growth is expected to reach up to 7% by 2030. Apparently simple operations, such as searching for a consumer product or service (for example when we book holidays or choose a film on a streaming site) are based on data-intensive algorithms and have a significant impact on the production of greenhouse gases.  

Professor Ielmini’s preliminary ANIMATE research has shown that computational energy requirements can be reduced by closed-loop in-memory computing (CL-IMC). This system is capable of solving linear algebra problems in a single computational step. Thanks to the reduction in calculation time, CL-IMC requires 5,000 times less energy than digital computers with the same precision in terms of number of bits. Ielmini's project will develop the device and circuit technology, system architectures and set of applications to fully validate the CL-IMC concept.  

A PROTOCOL TO NEUTRALIZE THE NATURAL BARRIER IN BREAST CANCER  

Manuela Raimondi, professor in the ‘Giulio Natta’ Department of Chemistry, Materials and Chemical Engineering, combines mechanobiology, bioengineering, oncology, genetics, microtechnology, biophysics and pharmacology to develop a new method for the treatment of breast cancer.  

In fact, in this type of illness, the aggressiveness is related to the fibrotic stiffening of the tumour tissue: fibrosis progressively prevents drugs from reaching cancer cells. With BEACONSANDEGG – Mechanobiology of cancer progression, Raimondi intends to develop a method capable of circumventing this problem. Starting from the modelling of microtumours at various levels of fibrosis and from human breast cancer cells adhered to 3D polymer micro-supports, the microtumours will be implanted in vivo into the respiratory membrane of embryonated avian eggs, in order to elicit a fibrotic foreign body reaction in microtumours. This study model will be validated with anticancer drugs whose clinical outcome is known to depend on the level of tumour fibrosis. It will also provide a standardisable and ethical platform to promote the clinical translation of new therapeutic products in oncology. This is a key issue for professor Raimondi: some of the research and modelling tools she has developed over the last ten years have precisely this goal: to reduce or replace the pre-clinical experimental phases in vivo, for example, with the use of 3D supports for cell cultures and microfluidic chambers for tissue and organoid culture. 

ERC: “CHALLENGING EUROPE’S BRIGHTEST MINDS” 

A bit of context for this good news: the Politecnico is at the top of the world rankings of universities also thanks to the frontier scientific research that it carries out in its laboratories. The protagonists of this Italian record are the many scientists and researchers of the Politecnico (ERC and beyond): about 3500..  

Some of these are 'ERC researchers', with ERC standing for European Research Council. ERC is a European Commission tool that supports pioneering and frontier research. It is said that these researchers are among "the brightest minds in Europe", scientists who could be on the trail of new and unpredictable scientific and technological discoveries.  

In total, to date, 52 ERC projects at the Politecnico. They vary according to the size and duration of the funding: between Euro 150 thousand and 12 million.  

  • Starting Grant, for emerging researchers, with 2-7 years of experience gained after obtaining the PhD 
  • Consolidator Grant, for young people who already have ten years of research behind them 
  • Advanced Grant, dedicated to outstanding and established scientists, able to open up new directions in their respective research fields and in other sectors 
  • Synergy Grant, , which promotes substantial advances in the frontier of knowledge and encourages new lines of research 
  • Proof of Concept, a minor funding, dedicated to researchers who already have an ERC project underway or have recently completed it. It aims to ensure the link between basic research and the market 
Read the story of TOMATTO, the Politecnico’s Synergy Grant

ERC promotes a so-called 'investigator driven' or 'bottom-up' approach, i.e., the free initiative of the best European scientists who follow excellent, innovative and high-risk research projects, key elements for achieving the sustainable growth objectives that the Union has set 

CONVERTING UNCERTAINTY INTO ACTION AND REVOLUTIONIZING MATERIALS SCIENCE 

. Sara Bagherifard, with ArcHIDep project, and Massimo Tavoni, with EUNICE project, get two ERC Consolidator Grants. Tavoni, professor of Climate Change Economics at the Department of Management Engineering and Director of RFF-CMCC, European Institute on Economics and the Environment, has the goal of reducing the uncertainties involved in confronting climate change. His research covers energy and climate economics, and in particular, the modelling of international climate policies. With EUNICE, he tackles the problem of uncertainties in climate stabilization paths and in current climate-energy-economy models and converts the scenarios outlined by these models into indications that help define resilient, solid and reliable policies to combat climate change. 

Bagherifard, senior researcher at the Department of Mechanical Engineering, deals with numerical and experimental approaches to design, manufacture and characterize multifunctional materials. With the ArcHIDep project, she intends to deploy a revolutionary solid state deposition system in order to obtain heterogeneous materials with architecture structured on three levels of scale: micro, meso and macro. ArcHIDep will make it possible to develop a framework, which does not currently exist, for designing and building components which are capable of overcoming the limitations associated with the current inability to combine conflicting properties. 

ERC PROOF OF CONCEPT, OR: SCIENCE TESTING THE FACTS 

Once again we find Daniele Ielmini with SHANNON, acronym for Secure hardware with advanced nonvolatile memories. It aims to develop a new type of encryption circuit based on the concept of non-cloneable physical function. The encryption keys are generated through random memory states that are completely invisible to an external inspection, thanks to a new algorithm and a new cell structure, making this solution very interesting for the security of Internet of Things systems. 

Paola Saccomandi, from the Department of Mechanical Engineering, works on the development, technological validation and market analysis of a device for the laser removal of tumours, much less invasive than the instruments we have today. The project is called LEILA: closed-loop and multisensing delivery tool for controlled laser ablation of tumors.  

With the TCOtronics, acronym for transparent conductive oxide nanocrystalline films for electronics and optoelectronics via low-cost solution processing, Francesco Scotognella (Department of Physics) aims to manufacture thin layers based on nanoparticles of metal oxides, which can be used as optical filters or transparent electrodes for solar cells and light emitting diodes. An important goal is also the use of non-toxic and abundant elements on the planet.  

Francesco Topputo (Department of Aerospace Science and Technology) aims to develop an autonomous navigation sensor for satellites in deep space. Thanks to the SENSEproject: a sensor for autonomous navigation in deep space, satellites themselves will be able to estimate their position without the need to communicate with ground stations. This will make it possible to cut navigation costs for space exploration, making space accessible to universities, research centres and small businesses.  

twin home

Robots that increasingly resemble ourselves: is the era of anthropomorphic machines?

Posted on | by admin

Science fantasy aside, state-of-the-art robotics (together with increasing knowledge of the mechanisms that regulate the human body) already offers us technologies of great utility in the healthcare setting : prostheses, exoskeletons and devices for rehabilitation and healthcare, designed by teams who masterfully mix engineering, medicine, design and dialogue with patients (namely those who will use such devices).

Do you remember Hannes, the robotic hand? Developed by INAIL [National Institute for Insurance against Accidents at Work] and IIT (the Italian Institute of Technology), it restores 90% of the lost functionality for people who have un-dergone arm amputations. Its industrial design was conceived by ddpstudio, founded by three Alumni: Lorenzo De Bartolomeis, Gabriele Diamanti and Filippo Poli. It is precisely the interdisciplinary origin of its design that won Hannes the 2018 ADI Design Index award for innovation: «Due to the quality of your work which consequently represents value for design and for our country”; and, in 2020, the coveted Compasso d’Oro award.

twin team
Credits: ddpstudio

According to the reasoning behind the award, “The design is proven to be an essential tool for helping people in difficulty to regain control of their future. Technology and aesthetics help to overcome psychological distress and physical handicap”. And, in the words of Marco Zambelli – who lost his right hand in a workplace accident more than 40 years ago at the age of 16 – this is precisely what Hannes effectively does. He is the “patient zero” for whom Hannes was designed. He told us about the first time he used it: “I got emotional. I realised that I could regain my right hand”

Discover the whole story behind Hannes on Map

Now Hannes will have a little brother, based on the design conceived at the same ddpstudio.

TWIN, THE EXOSKELETON THAT MAKES IT POSSIBLE TO WALK AGAIN

Twin, the robot exoskeleton, is a device for the neuromotor rehabilitation of patients with locomotive and balance deficits arising as a result of spinal injuries or strokes. In short, it allows patients with spinal cord injuries to walk inde-pendently. Like Hannes, it has been designed by INAIL, IIT and, for the industrial design, ddpstudio. Again, it owes its recent fame to its design: it is still in the developmental phase but it is already gaining recognition from around the world.

From overseas, the prestigious Good design Award in the Robotics category. The award was given by the Chicago Athenaeum, comprising the Museum of Architecture and Design in the same US city and the European Centre for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies. In its “homeland”, Twin has been included in the 2021ADI Design Index 2021, in the design for people category, it has qualified for the final selection of the 2022 Compasso d’Oro, and will be on display at the ADI Design Museum from mid-June.

Lastly, it received the 2022 IF International Forum Design award, in the Medicine/Health Product category, awarded to the designers who collaborated in the development of the device. TheIF Design Award is considered one of the most prestigious design awards in the world. TWIN was selected from among 11,000 applications submitted by 57 countries and assessed by a panel of 132 members, made up of independent experts from all over the world.

twin
Credits: Inail

AN X-RAY OF OUR TWIN: HOW IS IT DONE?

Twin is a wearable autonomous robotic device , that allows people with full or partial spinal injuries to walk again. Its technology is capable of assessing rehabilitative progress and setting the level of assistance at all times; it uses the patient’s residual movement to help them walk, intervening – only if necessary – to support them and help them correctly take steps. When the patient leans forward, Twin moves. To stop, the user moves slightly in the opposite direction, bringing their torso back to an upright position. The “cruising” speed is around 2 or 2.5 km/h, more or less half that of a healthy subject.

Credits: ddpstudio

It is conceived to be used in combination with a wheelchair, at least for now. It makes it possible to move easily from the sitting position to the standing position, can be disassembled and is easy to put on in a few minutes, while remain-ing seated. It is height-adjustable and can support users weighing up to 110 kg.

It is made up of a rigid structure that keeps the patient in an upright position and has 4 motors, two on the hips and two on the knees. The pelvis is a carbon fibre shell containing Twin’s brain and heart – or its control system and batter-ies. Its range allows for up to 4 hours of continuous walking.

It is the fruit of a shared design process which involved a multidisciplinary team of patients, clinicians, researchers, engineers and designers in all phases of its development.

“It is a very long process, which started in 2014 and is still not complete”, says Gabriele Diamanti. “And it is a design-centric project, that is, it’s based on patient needs: in fact, in the initial phase we participated in various focus groups with paraplegic patients and visited their care centres. From there, the mechanical concept was born and then, piece by piece, the technology was implemented.

Various prototypes were created over the years, each being tested with patients to detect problems and opportunities in terms of its implementation. There is still a long road ahead before Twin is completely finalised: “The award-winning prototype has already been surpassed”, adds De Bartolomeis. “For us it is strange, because what seemed novel to eve-ryone else, actually has now newer form and functionality. Since it is a research project, the team is working on a platform that will, over the next three years, give life to solutions with various applications and functions (obviously these cannot be published yet)”.

WOULD YOU GO FOR A WALK, TO THE SUPERMARKET OR TO THE BAR WEARING AN EXOSKELETON?

Once finalised, Twin will undergo clinical trials, certification and then be released to the public. And, once again, it will encounter human beings: how will it be received?

twin
Credits: Web Marketing Festival

“Working on this project for years and speaking with many people, patients and doctors, we have realised that the response cannot be taken for granted”, says Diamanti."Patients can have preconceptions, which may be either too positive or too negative, in relation to the idea of using an exoskeleton, and this influences test results to a great ex-tent. There are patients who reject it, because they ask themselves: do I need to wear that thing? I can go much faster with my chair that you “bipeds”. Because when it is born, technology is still behind nature. Other patients have a lot of faith in it, because it unlocks the possibility of interacting, looking at people in the eyes at the same height. It is partly down to habit and partly down to attitudes towards innovation. Another major issue is prejudice at the social level: wheelchairs themselves are now considered normal, but 50 years ago everyone would stare at a person going down the street in a wheelchair. Innovation is not only technological, but also cultural. When everyone stares at you while you do your shopping with a robotic exoskeleton, there may be a certain degree of embarrassment. Those who suf-fered their injuries a long time ago also have a different approach to those who have just been injured. And it also de-pends on the type and location of the injury; depending on which vertebrae are involved, it changes the degree of con-trol that one has over their body”.

Diamanti concludes:

“In such a varied and technical working team, the education that we have received at the Politecnico makes us feel at home”.

Credits home: Web Marketing Festival
Credits header: iF Design Award

shell ecomarathon home

Shell Eco-Marathon: chi va piano va sano e va lontano

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The Shell Eco-Marathon è un campionato automobilistico storico nato nel 1985, organizzato ogni anno da Shell. I team, composti da studenti, possono correre in due categorie, quante sono le tipologie di veicoli ammesse:  UrbanConcept – veicoli simili alle automobili tradizionali, che, in teoria, potrebbero anche essere omologate per il trasporto urbano – e Prototype – prototipi di veicoli leggeri ultra-efficienti. I veicoli possono essere alimentati in qualsiasi modo: combustione interna (benzina, diesel, etanolo), batterie elettriche o celle a combustione di idrogeno.

L’importante non è arrivare prima degli altri (anche se un po’ conta anche quello), ma percorrere la maggiore distanza possibile con l’equivalente di 1 kWh o 1 litro di carburante. L’ingegno sta appunto nel costruire il veicolo che consumi meno di tutti gli altri e, dove ci vuole ingegno, ecco che arrivano gli ingegneri. 

http://sem.mecc.polimi.it/

Abbiamo intervistato Emma Patuzzo, studentessa di Mobility Engineering all’ultimo anno e secondo pilota della squadra Team Mecc-e del Politecnico di Milano, che si trova in questo momento nei Paesi Bassi per la prima tappa della Shell Eco-marathon 2022. Dal 31 maggio al 3 giugno infatti si corre al TT Circuit Assen, dove farà il suo debutto la nuova macchina del Team, Asteria, per conquistare il titolo di Urban Concept più efficiente dal punto di vista energetico. 

“Vince il veicolo che compie un numero prestabilito di giri alla massima velocità ottimizzando meglio i consumi, che vengono calcolati tramite telemetria”, ci spiega Patuzzo. Alla domanda “quanto prevedete di consumare?”, risponde: “Sono dati che non possiamo ancora rivelare. Ne saprete di più dopo i test e le prove libere ufficiali.  

Emma Patuzzo con Apollo

È dal 2019 che il campionato non si teneva dal vivo, quindi c’è grande aspettativa. Quale clima vi aspettate ai box?, chiediamo a Patuzzo. “I primi giorni clima c’è un rilassato, si punta a cercare la prestazione migliore della macchina. Quando però il gioco si fa serio e cominciamo a vedere il podio che si avvicina, c’è una certa agitazione. Nel 2019 il Poli aveva corso a Brookland Circuit, UK, con il predecessore di Asteria, Leto, che fece il quarto posto. Il clima era molto teso”. Chi sono quelli da battere? “Noi puntiamo al podio e nel 2019 ci siamo andati veramente molto vicini. In questo momento, la Francia è il nostro rivale principale”. Com’è stare lì dentro? “Caldo. Caldissimo. È molto emozionante, è qualcosa che abbiamo costruito noi dall’inizio alla fine. Chiaramente ci hanno aiutati gli sponsor: il principale è Mako Shark, che ci aiuta con la laminazione e la costruzione dello chassis”. Patuzzo è all’ultimo anno, le chiediamo quali siano i suoi piani per il futuro. “In questo momento sono in lista per un team di Formula 1, sto finendo i colloqui. Altrimenti ho altre prospettive sul campo della guida autonoma, che è anche l’argomento della mia tesi”. 

I membri del team al lavoro su Asteria

Nel 2010 il Poli ha fatto il record mondiale di efficienza nella categoria Prototype sul circuito Rockingham Motor Speedway, UK. Il prototipo Apollo, alimentato a energia solare, ha percorso 796 km/kWh. Il record rimane ad oggi imbattuto.

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Credits home/header: courtesy of Team Mecc-e del Politecnico di Milano

amedeo felisa home

Amedeo Felisa new CEO of Aston Martin

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Amedeo Felisa, Alumnus Mechanical Engineering 1970, starting from May 2022 is the new CEO of Aston Martin, an appointment that comes after 26 years of career in leadership roles at Ferrari - including 8 years as CEO - where he also became the engineering and product-development force behind every new model. 

aston martin
Credits: Fleetmagazine

Speaking of the new role taken on by the Alumnus, Aston Martin Executive Chairman Martin Lawrence Stroll ha dichiarato a Reuters that

“Nobody knows how to make ultra-luxury performance cars better than Amedeo,”

and that he has been appointed to lead the British brand to ensure that the company focuses “on the bigger picture.” 

Mr. Felisa will guide Aston Martin towards the launch its first 100% electric model in 2025 and to convert all production to electric by 2030. The whole production chain is expected to become carbon neutral by 2039.   

Credits Home: Fleetmagazine
Credits Header: Motorionline

MSCA3Home

MSCA Master Class: Young Researchers at Politecnico

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During the next few years, researchers at Politecnico di Milano will deal with “burning” issues such as global warming, energy transition, ethical application of decision algorithms and many other themes that will have a big impact on society and all our lives.

This is the case of 17 young researchers who have recently arriveD at our University departments thanks to a “Marie Curie Postdoctoral FellowshipS”: a European scholarship for young scientists dealing with crucial themes on an international level. Each young researcher will be looked after by a supervisor, that is a professor or researcher expert in the subject, who will help the MSCA grantee to develop the research project and enhance their training.

Let’s find out what they will be dealing with:

HOW TO SAVE ENERGY?

Courtesy of Servizio Ricerca Politecnico di Milano

Wietse M. Boon

Usando tecniche di deep-learning, Wietse M. Boon vuole sviluppare nuovi e più efficienti modelli per descrivere e prevedere il comportamento del flusso nel sottosuolo per capire come stoccare energia da fonti rinnovabili in modo sicuro. Boon è uno dei ricercatori che si sono appoggiati alla MSCA Master Class del Politecnico, un percorso che affianca i migliori post-doc da tutto il mondo che vogliono candidarsi a un grant Marie Curie e scelgono il nostro Ateneo come host institution: “La masterclass mi ha insegnato come allineare la mia proposta con gli obiettivi principali della MSCA Individual Fellowship e mi ha dato preziosi consigli”.      

COOLER CITIES

Courtesy of Servizio Ricerca Politecnico di Milano

Nicola Colaninno, 43 years

MultiCAST: Multiscale Thermal-related Urban Climate Analysis and Simulation Tool

2022-2025

Funding: € 251,002.56

DEPARTMENT OF ARCHITECTURE AND URBAN STUDIES (DASTU)

Supervisor: Eugenio Morello

Keywords: urban heat island; climate-proof urban planning; giscience

Colaninno will deal with the phenomenon known as Urban Heat Island and will develop a decision-making support system for climate planning and design with the aim of making cities livable during the summer months. The system will be tested in three urban areas in Los Angeles, Amsterdam and Milan.

ULTRAFAST PARTICLES AND PROCESSES

Courtesy of Servizio Ricerca Politecnico di Milano

Maurizio Reduzzi, 33 years

HETRUSQ: HETeRoaromatic biomolecules Ultrafast Spectroscopy in liQuids

2021-2023

Funding: € 171,473.28

DEPARTMENT OF PHYSICS (DFIS)

Supervisor: Mauro Nisoli

Keywords: attosecond physics; ultrafast spectroscopy; ultrafast optics

Reduzzi will work as part of Professor Nisoli’s group (we talked about his ERC project, TOMATTO, in edition #9 of MAP). “HETRUSQ aims to explore and study charge transfer processes in organic matter using attosecond timescales as well as the interaction between molecules and water, their natural environment.” Find out more

OBTAINING A LASER USING VERY LITTLE ENERGY

Courtesy of Servizio Ricerca Politecnico di Milano

Armando Genco, 32 years

ENOSIS: ENhancing and prObing Strong light-matter Interactions in 2D materials by ultrafaSt optical techniques

2021-2023

Funding: € 171,473.28

DEPARTMENT OF PHYSICS (DFIS)

Supervisor: Giulio Cerullo

Keywords: 2d heterostructures; ultrafast spectroscopy; microcavity polaritons

Genco studies polaritons, particles that can be exploited to obtain coherent light sources (laser) with innovative and low threshold materials that require very little energy: “The potential for the world of telecommunications and computing, for example, is very promising both in terms of speed and environmental impact.” Find out more

CAN AN ALGORITHM BE “FAIR”?

Courtesy of Servizio Ricerca Politecnico di Milano

Michele Loi, 42 years

FPH: Fair predictions in health

2021-2023

Funding: € 183,473.28

DEPARTMENT OF MATHEMATICS (DMAT)

Supervisor: Giovanni Valente

Keywords: statistical predictions; fairness; algorithms

“The way in which data is looked at gives different results. And not only in terms of scientific considerations but also on a moral level. Our ideas, our values dictate how we read data to extract a judgment about the fairness of the algorithm.” Find out more

RENEWABLE ENERGIES AND INTERMITTENCE ISSUES

Courtesy of Servizio Ricerca Politecnico di Milano

Mark A. Bajada, 30 years old

SSEFR: Single-Site Electrocatalytic Flow Reactor for C-C Coupling

2021-2023

Funding: € 171,473.28

DEPARTMENT OF CHEMISTRY, MATERIAL AND CHEMICAL ENGINEERING “GIULIO NATTA” (DCMC)

Supervisor: Gianvito Vilé (we talked about Gianvito in MAP #9, on page 22)

Keywords: catalysis; flow chemistry; green chemistry

Bajada aims to identify and create new materials able to convert energy from renewable sources into chemical energy to solve the intermittence issues associated with renewable energy. Find out more

SLEEP CRISIS

Courtesy of Servizio Ricerca Politecnico di Milano

Diletta De Cristofaro, 34 years old

SCRAPS: writing the Sleep CRisis: 24/7 cAPitalism and neoliberal Subjectivity

2021-2024

Funding: € 257,209.92

DEPARTMENT OF ARCHITECTURE AND URBAN STUDIES (DASTU)

Supervisor: Simona Chiodo

Keywords: sleep crisis; mhealth; philosophy of technology

SCRAPS will study the phenomenon that doctors and psychologists throughout the world call the “sleep crisis.” De Cristofaro will analyze works of fiction, nonfiction and digital culture to investigate the impact of lead times on health and the relationship between individual health and neoliberal ideologies. Find out more

EXTRACTING PRECIOUS METALS FROM COMETS

Courtesy of Servizio Ricerca Politecnico di Milano

Mirko Trisolini, 32 years old

CRADLE: Collecting Asteroid-Orbiting Samples: enabling a safer, sustainable, and autonomous exploration of asteroids

2021-2023

Funding: € 229,704.64

DEPARTMENT OF AEROSPACE SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY (DAER)

Supervisor: Camilla Colombo (scoprila su MAP #5 a pag. 32)

Keywords: asteroid exploration; asteroid dust particle dynamics; dust in-orbit collection

Trisolini will work to develop an innovative and autonomous system to extract rare and precious materials which may be found inside asteroids and comets. “I chose Politecnico di Milano as my host institution for the technical experience and background of the research group and the long-standing international collaborations they have access to.” Find out more

PREVENTING THE RISKS OF SOIL EXPLOITATION

Courtesy of Servizio Ricerca Politecnico di Milano

Michele Botti, 30 years old

PDGeoFF: Polyhedral Discretisation Methods for Geomechanical Simulation of Faults and Fractures in Poroelastic Media

2020-2022

Funding: € 171,473.28

DEPARTMENT OF MATHEMATICS (DMAT)

Supervisor: Paola Antonietti

Keywords: Polyhedral discretization methods; Geomechanics; Numerical modelling

Thanks to numerical simulations it is possible to predict the effects of soil exploitation. The PDGeoFF project aims to develop a mathematical and numerical framework to prevent the risks linked to various human geological activities such as the production of geothermal energy and the collection and storage of CO2.

CLIMATE CHANGE RESISTANT AGRICULTURE

Courtesy of Servizio Ricerca Politecnico di Milano

Sandra Ricart, 37 anni

MODFaBe: Modelling individual farmer behaviours in Coupled Human Natural Systems under changing climate and society

2020-2022

Funding: € 171,473.28

DEPARTMENT OF ELECTRONICS, INFORMATION AND BIOENGINEERING (DEIB)

Supervisor: Andrea Castelletti

Keywords: Farmers; Climate change; Modelling; Behaviour; Muzza system

Increasing temperatures, diminishing rainfall, flooding and drought are threatening agricultural productivity. Ricart creates models that describe the behavior of farmers and aims to understand how these models can make farming sustainable, flexible and adaptable to changes in climate.

NANO-ANTENNAS FOR SECOND HARMONIC GENERATION

Courtesy of Servizio Ricerca Politecnico di Milano

Thorsten Feichtner, 40 anni

PoSHGOAT: Potential-dependent Second-Harmonic Generation in Optical Antennas measured Time-resolved

2020-2021

Finanziamento 137.604,96

DEPARTMENT OF PHYSICS (DFIS)

Supervisor: Paolo Biagioni

Keywords: Optical antenna; Plasmonics; Second harmonic generation

Second harmonic generation is an optical process with promising applications in spectroscopy, ultrafast optical switching and optical processing of information. Feichtner is studying how to maximize generation by constructing electric contact nano-antennas with ultra-thin points and ultra-small clearances as well as developing numerical models to optimize the geometries of nano-particles.

BIOGAS AT THE CENTER OF ENERGY TRANSITION

Courtesy of Servizio Ricerca Politecnico di Milano

Imteyaz Alam, 37 anni

Biogas2Syngas: Rational Design for Coke-resistant Dry Reforming Catalyst using Combined Theory and Operando Raman Experiments

2019-2021

Funding: € 171,473.28

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY (DENG)

Supervisor: Matteo Maestri (ne abbiamo parlato su MAP #6 a pag.30) Keywords: Biogas; Syngas; Coke-resistant catalyst          

Biogas is an important energy source that plays a central role in the energy revolution. The Biogas2Syngas project researches and develops technology and models to exploit this resource and deals with some of its main challenges, such as improving the life-cycle and performance of catalyzers.

LOOKING AT MOLECULES FROM VERY CLOSE UP

Courtesy of Servizio Ricerca Politecnico di Milano

Soumen Ghosh, 32 years old

CHIRALSCOPY: Probing Ultrafast Stereochemical Dynamics by Femtosecond Electronic Circular Dichroism Spectroscopy

2019-2021

Funding: € 171,473.28

DEPARTMENT OF PHYSICS (DFIS)

Supervisor: Giulio Cerullo

Keywords: Molecular Handedness; Ultrafast Chirality; Femtosecond Dynamics

Ghosh is developing a new-generation spectroscopic technique which is highly sensitive to the three-dimensional structure of bio-molecules, to observe their movement in real time while their structure changes during a biological process. Among the various applications, in the field of structural chemistry, this technique will create tools which can be used in the fight against Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease and DNA photodamage.

OBTAINING HYDROCARBONS FROM METHANOL

Torstein Fjermestad, 41 anni

EMPaTHY: use of multiscale modElling to Minimize coke ProducTion during the methanol-to- HYdrocarbon process

2019-2021

Funding: € 171,473.28

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY (DENG)

Supervisor: Matteo Maestri

Keywords: Multiscale modelling; Computational fluid dynamics; Molecular dynamics; Density functional theory calculations

Methanol can replace fossil fuels as a source of valid hydrocarbons, offering a pathway towards more sustainable fuels and chemical products. This process has been known since the 1970s but has only been employed on an industrial level during the last decade and it has yet to overcome a number of technical challenges which Fjermestad will deal with thanks to the EMPaTHY project.

AN ORGAN-ON-CHIP MODEL FOR OSTEOARTHRITIS

Courtesy of Servizio Ricerca Politecnico di Milano

Paola Occhetta, 34 years old

uKNEEversal: a miniaturized 3D in vitro model of human joint to gain new knowledge on Osteoarthritis pathophysiology

2019-2021

Funding: € 171,473.28

DEPARTMENT OF ELECTRONICS, INFORMATION AND BIOENGINEERING (DEIB)

Supervisor: Marco Rasponi

Keywords: Organs-on-Chip; Osteoarthritis; In vitro models

Occhetta will use organ-on-chip technology to create the model of a joint affected by osteoarthritis which will recreate the complexity of this disease. It will also be used to study the mechanisms that affect the joint and the response to medication.

AUTONOMOUS SPACE GUIDANCE

Courtesy of Servizio Ricerca Politecnico di Milano

Gabriella Gaias, 41 anni

ReMoVE: Rendezvous Modelling Visiting and Enhancing

2019-2021

Funding: € 168,277.20

DEPARTMENT OF AEROSPACE SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY (DAER)

Supervisor: Marco Lovera

Keywords: Active debris removal; Multi-satellite mission; Spacecraft guidance navigation and control

Gaias is developing a technological solution to remove large faulty satellites polluting strategic orbits around the Earth. The biggest challenge is the development of a space navigation and guidance control system which is autonomous, robust and advanced. Gaias will be collaborating with D-Orbit, a leader in the sector and founded by the Alumnus, Luca Rossettini.

GHOSTS IN THE OPERATING ROOM

Courtesy of Servizio Ricerca Politecnico di Milano

Antonio Forte, 36 anni

ALPHA-STEM: Advanced Laboratory Phantoms for Soft Tissues in Engineering and Medicine

2018-2021

Finanziamento 244.269,00

DEPARTMENT OF ELECTRONICS, INFORMATION AND BIOENGINEERING (DEIB)

Supervisor: Elena De Momi

Keywords: Mechanical Metamaterials; Soft Matter; Hydrogels

Until today, training surgeons has presented a number of limitations. A potential solution is the use of artificial synthetic models, also known as “Phantoms”: reproductions of human parts and organs which allow surgeons to practice positioning anatomical structures and hand coordination. Forte aims to improve these supports with reliable tactile feedback and deformation models of real tissues.

From 2014 to now

Overall, 24 MSCA researchers have chosen Politecnico di Milano as their “host institution.” . They have received about 4 and a half million Euros in funding from the European Commission and their work has generated scientific papers, new lines of research and consolidated important international scientific collaborations. The researchers below have completed their MSCA projects, some have continued their research in our laboratories, among these is Edoardo Albisetti, from the department of Physics, who has recently won an ERC grant. Others have moved to other universities throughout the world, taking a piece of Politecnico di Milano DNA with them.

Wordcloud msca
Courtesy of Servizio Ricerca Politecnico di Milano

Daniele Ancora, 35 years old

HI-PHRET: High-resolution Imaging with Phase Retrieved Tomography

2019-2021

DEPARTMENT OF PHYSICS (DFIS) Supervisor: Antonio Pifferi

Courtesy of Servizio Ricerca Politecnico di Milano

Fabian Holzmeier, 33 years old

CHARISMA: CHARge transport in Intermediate-Sized Molecules on Attosecond time scales

2018-2020

DEPARTMENT OF PHYSICS (DFIS) Supervisor: Mauro Nisoli

Courtesy of Servizio Ricerca Politecnico di Milano

Fabio Ferrari, 32 anni

GRAINS: Gravitation of Rubble-pile Asteroid with Internal N-body Structure

2018-2021

DEPARTMENT OF AEROSPACE SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY (DAER)

Supervisor: Michèle Lavagna (ultime notizie su di lei e sulla sua ricerca per produrre acqua sulla superficie della Luna a questo link)

Courtesy of Servizio Ricerca Politecnico di Milano

Edoardo Albisetti, 34 years old

SWING: Patterning Spin-Wave reconfIgurable Nanodevices for loGics and computing

2016-2019

DEPARTMENT OF PHYSICS (DFIS)

Supervisor: Riccardo Bertacco

Courtesy of Servizio Ricerca Politecnico di Milano

Margherita Maiuri, 33 years old

PHOEBUS: PHOto-induced Energy flow in Bio-inspired molecular circuits probed with Ultrafast two-dimensional Spectroscopy

2015-2018

DEPARTMENT OF PHYSICS (DFIS)

Supervisor: Giulio Cerullo

Tommaso Lotti, 38 anni

POLIS: Studying the bricks of microbial cities: characterization and structural properties of exopolysaccharides and their interaction with proteins and cations in anammox granular sludge

2015-2017

DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL AND ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING (DICA)

Supervisor: Francesca Malpei

WITH YOUR '5 PER MILLE' DONATIONS YOU SUPPORT RESEARCH AT POLITECNICO. GIVE YOUR DONATION

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5 per mille 2019

5 per mille 2019: sport and social inclusion 

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Research and technological transfer can contribute to the leveraging of sports to achieve greater inclusion of vulnerable individuals. In this regard, in 2019 the Politecnico invested € 580 thousand in research projects with a high social impact, to be implemented in the sports world. To tackle the issues of youth disenfranchisement and the exclusion of minorities, encourage dialogue between cultures, and promote the social and environmental improvement of neighbourhoods, particular attention was paid to facilitating access to sports for disabled people – an important objective for public policies at the global level – and to the inclusion of marginalised sectors in general: in the suburbs and inner cities, in the prisons, and in areas affected by depopulation. 

REGENERATING A CITY’S PUBLIC SPACE | UNPark Urban Nudging Park  

Departments: DASTU, DCMC, DABC, DESIGN, DEIB 
Tags: street sport, marginal urban spaces, socialisation   
Location: Milano (town hall 8)
Partners: Municipality of Milan, Open4Citizens, Assicurazioni Vittoria, Radio Popolare, ESO, LSS Bottoni and ICS R. Pizzigoni schools, Comitato di cittadini Milano in Alta Quota, OSG2001 and Soulbasket sports associations, ARCI L’Impegno and the Associations of Catholic Guides and Scouts of Italy.   

unpark
Credits: Polisocial

With the UNParkproject, researchers started with a feasibility study of medium-long term scenarios and developed a pilot action focussed on the area below the Serra-Monte Ceneri Flyover in Milan. Built at the start of the 1960s to lighten the traffic coming into Fiera Campionaria, over time the flyover has become an increasingly critical issue for the neighbourhood. Researchers have reimagined it being transformed into a multifunctional and accessible space devoted mainly to the most vulnerable urban categories (pre-teens, teens and the elderly): a playground equipped for street sport and other social activities, enlivened by a schedule of sporting and cultural activities open to the public. 

Find out more

VISITING THE MOUNTAINS IS A WALK IN THE PARK | TWIN Trekking, Walking and cycling for Inclusion 

Departments: DASTU, DICA, DEIB 
Tags: slow leisure, new jobs, building restoration 
Location: LIGURIAN AND TUSCAN-EMILIAN APPENNINES
Partners: CAI - Italian Alpine Club, FCI - Italian Cycling Federation (National Federation and Milan Provincial Committee), European Association of the Via Francigena and Consorzio Solidarietà Sociale Oscar Romero. 

capanna twin
Credits: Polisocial

Travelling sports tourism along cycle lanes and pathways is an opportunity for the economic and social regeneration of rural areas of the interior. These networks of pathways need primary services (food, accommodation, sanitary facilities) and accessory services (products, assistance, safety, training, etc.) which have almost no access for disabled people and are managed intermittently by means of local initiative. This is the context of the TWIN project, a study to propose the building of one or several reception facilities in the Central Italy seismic crater area, which will be operated by “vulnerable” individuals, primarily workers from with the sector who possess experience and skills but have lost their job (or clientele) following the earthquake, but also disabled people and ex-convicts. The first TWIN hut was inaugurated on 31 July 2021 at the Cisa Pass having been built in the workshop at Monza prison to welcome pilgrims and hikers.

Discover more: Slow tourism made in Politecnico: the TWIN hut project

Find the Twin Hut https://www.twin.polimi.it/capanna-twin/ 

QUARTIERE CHE VAI, CAMPETTO CHE TROVI | SPèS SPORT è SOCIETÀ  

Departments: DAC, DIG, DASTU 
Tags: parish youth clubs, sports infrastructure, social regeneration   
Location: METROPOLITAN CITY OF MILAN 
Partners: ICS - Italian Institute for Sports Credit, Lombardy Regional Committee of the Italian National Olympic Committee (CONI), Lombardy General Directorate for Welfare, Municipality of Milan, CSI Milan Sports Promotion Authority, Fondazione diocesana per gli Oratori Milanesi (FOM).   

Credits: Polisocial

A project for social regeneration and the promotion of health and urban inclusion through the reactivation of the sports infrastructure system belonging to the parish youth clubs of Milan.  

In an initial analysis phase, the distribution of the numerous parish youth clubs throughout the area was mapped, and the correlation between them and sports spaces, social infrastructure and urban green spaces was studied. A further study took account of the demographic element and accessibility on the city-wide scale through georeferenced maps, showing the role of parishes as places for local services, central for developing a human-oriented city. Following the study, the project focussed on the definition of a Strategic Design Framework which will make it possible to suggest social regeneration strategies, with particular reference to the sports sector, based precisely on these facilities. 

PROTESI E ORTESI PER PICCOLI SPORTIVI  | GIFT enGIneering For sporT for all 

Departments: DEIB, DIG, DMEC, DESIGN, DICA, DCMC  
Tags: orthotics, physical education, Sport for All   
Location: LOMBARDY AND LAZIO  
Partners: IRCCS Eugenio, Medea – Associazione la Nostra Famiglia, Università Cattolica di Milano, the Edumoto Yuky ONLUS, Polha Varese and Polisportiva Milanese 1979 Sport Disabili Onlus associations, and the organisations ITOP, BTS and Math&Sport. The project also benefits from collaboration from Claudio Arrigoni, a journalist from the sports daily paper Gazzetta dello Sport. 

gift
Credits: Polisocial

Headed by the E4Sport Lab, one of the Politecnico di Milano’s interdepartmental laboratories, the GIFT project covered two areas of research. The technological part led to the development of innovative orthoses which, by correcting functional deficits in hemiplegic children, can allow them to take part in sports (specifically, tests were conducted on running).  

On the social front, the research involved families, primary school teachers and sports associations through questionnaires, interviews, focus groups and special events.  

Discover more: The Politecnico di Milano wins the European prize for social inclusion in sport

THE ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL IMPACT OF THE OLYMPICS | FIVE of Olympics’ FLAG Framework for Impact eValuation of the Effects of Olympics For Longterm Achievement of (common)Good  

Departments: DIG, DENG, DASTU 
Tags: Winter Olympics, Strategic Planning, Social Cohesion   
Location: MILAN AND ALPINE AREAS OF LOMBARDY, TRENTINO-ALTO ADIGE AND VENETO
Partners: Municipality of Milan (Urban Economy and Employment Department), Metropolitan City of Milan, in the person of the Deputy Mayor Arianna Censi, and OMERO - Interdepartmental Research Centre for Urban Studies and Events.  

Credits: Polisocial

What long-term impact will the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics have on the local area? What will they bring in social, environmental and economic?  

These are the questions being asked by researchers from the Politecnico di Milano’s Tiresia group with their “Five of Olympics FLAG” project, as they work with local communities to analyse scenarios on several fronts: from the road network (above all the opening of theForcola Passin winter) to underground parking, from the possible saturation of local hospitality and healthcare facilities. 

SPORT E RICERCA IN CARCERE | ACTS A Chance Through Sport 

Departments: DASTU, DESIGN, DEIB 
Tag: detenuti, educazione motoria, riabilitazione sociale 
Location: METROPOLITAN CITY OF MILAN
Partners:  Regional Department of Prison Administration, National Guarantor for the Rights of Persons Detained or Deprived of Liberty, Elite, Bikevo, PARCfor, Waterproofing, Mapei S.p.A., Swan&Koi

Credits: ACTS

“I want to leave a better person”, says Filippo, an inmate in Bollate prison (the name is made up). TheACTS projectnvolved a group of students and researchers from the Politecnico listened to this desire and visited the Opera and Bollate prisons and the “Beccaria” Juvenile Detention Facility. The group works on the spaces and strategies of communication to build and facilitate relationships among inmates, prison officers and management, and on monitoring the physical condition of inmates and officers using wearable devices. A project that promotes sport as no longer a merely occasional practice, but as a relational and socialisation tool for effectively improving the physical and mental wellbeing of individuals and for upgrading spaces. 

You can donate to support this project

CLIMBING SHOWS YOU THE WORLD FROM ANOTHER PERSPECTIVE | ACCEPT Adaptive Climbing for CErebral Palsy Training  

Departments: DEIB, DMEC, DESIGN  
Tags: disability, adapted climbing, rehabilitation   
Location: Milan   
Partners: the FightTheStroke foundation as principal partner, the Milanoarrampicata association, the Playmore social enterprise and FASI - Italian Rock Climbing Federation (A. Biggi, trainer), RGTECH, Vibram, Scarpa and Montura   

Accept
Credits: Cecilia Monoli

Cerebral palsy (CP) is the most common infant motor neurone disability. In many cases, children with CP can recover part of their motor neurone ability with intense rehabilitation work, and sport can help this process and contribute to the achievement of functional objectives that would otherwise have taken longer to attain. The ACCEPT project focusses on climbing, in partnership with the FightTheStroke foundation: the result is an adapted interactive wall, fitted with sensors and optimised to meet the rehabilitation needs of children affected by CP between 6 and 13 years old (and children with motor problems more generally).  

Discover more: ACCEPT, the inclusive climbing wall at Fight Camp

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