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Robotics
Special Issues
IFToMM for Sustainable Development Goals: Contributions from I4SDG 2025 Conference
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IFToMM for Sustainable Development Goals: Contributions from I4SDG 2025 Conference

A special issue of Robotics (ISSN 2218-6581).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 September 2026 | Viewed by 2829

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Giuseppe Carbone

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Mechanical, Energy and Management Engineering, Università della Calabria, 87036 Rende, Italy
Interests: robotics; robot design; mechatronics; walking hexapod; design procedure; mechanics of machinery; leg–wheel
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Luigi Tagliavini

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Politecnico di Torino, 10129 Torino, Italy
Interests: applied mechanics; mechanism design; service robotics; assistive technologies; electric-powered wheelchairs; precision agriculture
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

We are pleased to invite you to contribute to a Special Issue dedicated to selected papers from The third IFToMM International Conference for Sustainable Development Goals (I4SDG 2025). This Special Issue will highlight outstanding research presented at the forum that aligns with the United Nations 2030 Development Agenda and emphasizes the role of Mechanism and Machine Science (MMS) in fostering sustainable development.

About IFToMM and the Special Issue

The International Federation for the Promotion of Mechanism and Machine Science (IFToMM) is a globally active scientific community, committed to advancing mechanical engineering knowledge and practice. Through initiatives like I4SDG, IFToMM actively contributes to addressing global challenges by supporting technologies that promote sustainability, inclusiveness, and responsible innovation.

This Special Issue aims to do the following:

  • Showcase IFToMM’s contributions toward achieving selected Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
  • Present cutting-edge research from the IFToMM community with clear relevance to sustainability.
  • Raise awareness of the SDGs within the MMS field.
  • Foster interdisciplinary collaboration among researchers, engineers, and scholars from both technological and humanistic domains.
  • Strengthen the global network of researchers committed to developing sustainable engineering solutions

Topics of Interest

We welcome original contributions, case studies, and reviews related to the theory, design, application, and practice of Mechanism and Machine Science in the context of sustainability. Topics include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • Biomechanical Engineering;
  • Linkages and Mechanical Control;
  • Sustainable Energy Systems;
  • Robotics and Mechatronics;
  • Green Tribology;
  • Humanitarian Engineering and Appropriate Technologies;
  • Socio-Technical Systems for Sustainable and Inclusive Development;
  • Education in MMS and SDGs;
  • Computational Kinematics;
  • Gearing and Transmissions;
  • Vibrations and Reliability;
  • Rotordynamics and Multibody Dynamics;
  • Micromachines;
  • Engines and Powertrains;
  • History and Terminology of MMS.

Dr. Giuseppe Carbone
Dr. Luigi Tagliavini
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Robotics is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • biomechanical engineering
  • linkages and mechanical control
  • sustainable energy systems
  • robotics and mechatronics
  • green tribology
  • humanitarian engineering and appropriate technologies
  • socio-technical systems for sustainable and inclusive development
  • education in MMS and SDGs
  • computational kinematics
  • gearing and transmissions
  • vibrations and reliability
  • rotordynamics and multibody dynamics
  • micromachines
  • engines and powertrains
  • history and terminology of MMS

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

  • Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
  • Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
  • Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
  • External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
  • Reprint: MDPI Books provides the opportunity to republish successful Special Issues in book format, both online and in print.

Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

12 pages, 1666 KB  
Article
Design and Implementation of a Gesture-Controlled Robotic Platform for Applied Education in Human–Robot Interaction
by Francesco Crivellari, Valerio Cornagliotto, Michele Polito and Stefano Pastorelli
Robotics 2026, 15(6), 112; https://doi.org/10.3390/robotics15060112 - 31 May 2026
Viewed by 92
Abstract
Industry 5.0 places humans at the center of production systems, requiring technologies that integrate operators as active components while adapting dynamically to their physical and cognitive needs. Within this context, facilitating the learning of complex concepts becomes essential, particularly through intuitive and accessible [...] Read more.
Industry 5.0 places humans at the center of production systems, requiring technologies that integrate operators as active components while adapting dynamically to their physical and cognitive needs. Within this context, facilitating the learning of complex concepts becomes essential, particularly through intuitive and accessible approaches. The objective of this work is to develop a hands-on educational platform for the introduction to human–robot interaction, aligned with Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG4). The platform is designed to support the experiential learning of key aspects of collaboration between human and robots while simultaneously familiarizing students with practical elements, including programming, hardware implementation with microcontrollers and sensors, and the use of the Robot Operating System (ROS). The developed system is based on the use of inertial measurement units (IMUs) to capture kinematic signals, enabling real-time interaction with a collaborative robot. The platform supports both translational and orientation control, with a maximum latency of 0.3 s, ensuring responsive and effective human–robot interaction. The hands-on approach will allow students to interact directly with the test bench, putting previously learned theoretical concepts into practice, according to the principle of learn-by-doing. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue IFToMM for Sustainable Development Goals: Contributions from I4SDG 2025 Conference)
21 pages, 3302 KB  
Article
Integrating Vision–Language–Action Models and RGB-D Sensing for Robotic Waste Sorting on KUKA LBR iiwa
by Teresa Sinico, Daniele Businaro and Giovanni Boschetti
Robotics 2026, 15(5), 100; https://doi.org/10.3390/robotics15050100 - 18 May 2026
Viewed by 308
Abstract
Robotic waste sorting presents significant challenges, including object variability, cluttered environments, and the predominant reliance on deep learning and traditional computer vision techniques, which typically demand extensive datasets and task-specific training. This paper introduces a robotic waste sorting system that integrates the Gemini [...] Read more.
Robotic waste sorting presents significant challenges, including object variability, cluttered environments, and the predominant reliance on deep learning and traditional computer vision techniques, which typically demand extensive datasets and task-specific training. This paper introduces a robotic waste sorting system that integrates the Gemini Vision–Language–Action (VLA) model with a KUKA LBR iiwa collaborative robot and an RGB-D camera. Our approach leverages the advanced reasoning capabilities of large, pre-trained VLA models to perform waste sorting, without requiring explicit training or dataset collection. Key contributions include the development of effective prompt engineering strategies for waste object identification, the assessment of the VLA’s performance in terms of inference time and accuracy, and the development of different grasping strategies for operation in cluttered scenarios. Our experimental tests demonstrated that the system’s inference time is between 2 and 4 s, which is suitable for collaborative robotic applications, and the system achieved a high overall classification accuracy of 89.64%. Crucially, we demonstrated that integration of RGB-D sensing enhanced the model’s ability to perceive object heights, resolve occlusions, and make informed grasping decisions in realistic, three-dimensional settings. We further validated multiple real-world grasping strategies, demonstrating tradeoffs between system efficiency and safety in heavily cluttered scenarios. This work establishes a practical and adaptable framework for deploying VLA-driven intelligence on commercial robotic platforms, highlighting the potential of VLAs for complex manipulation tasks beyond waste sorting. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue IFToMM for Sustainable Development Goals: Contributions from I4SDG 2025 Conference)
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39 pages, 18846 KB  
Article
Integrated Design of a Modular Lower-Limb Rehabilitation Exoskeleton: Multibody Simulation, Load-Driven Structural Optimization, and Experimental Validation
by Ionut Geonea, Andrei Corzanu, Cristian Copilusi, Adriana Ionescu and Daniela Tarnita
Robotics 2026, 15(4), 71; https://doi.org/10.3390/robotics15040071 - 28 Mar 2026
Viewed by 879
Abstract
Lower-limb rehabilitation exoskeletons must balance biomechanical compatibility, structural safety, and low mass to enable practical, repeatable gait assistance. This paper proposes a planar pantograph-derived exoskeleton leg driven by a Chebyshev Lambda linkage and develops an integrated workflow from mechanism synthesis to manufacturable optimization [...] Read more.
Lower-limb rehabilitation exoskeletons must balance biomechanical compatibility, structural safety, and low mass to enable practical, repeatable gait assistance. This paper proposes a planar pantograph-derived exoskeleton leg driven by a Chebyshev Lambda linkage and develops an integrated workflow from mechanism synthesis to manufacturable optimization and experimental verification. A mannequin-coupled multibody model was built in MSC ADAMS to evaluate joint kinematics, end-point (foot) trajectories, and joint reaction forces under multiple scenarios (fixed-frame, ramp, stair ascent, and inclined-plane walking). The extracted joint loads were transferred to a parametric finite element model in ANSYS Workbench 2019, where response surface surrogates and a multi-objective genetic algorithm (MOGA) were used to minimize mass under stiffness and strength constraints. For the optimized load-bearing link, the selected minimum-mass design reached a component mass of 0.542 kg while respecting the imposed structural limits, i.e., a maximum total deformation below 0.2 mm and a maximum equivalent (von Mises) stress below 50 MPa (e.g., ~0.188 mm deformation and ~39 MPa stress in the optimal candidate). A rapid prototype was manufactured by 3D printing and experimentally evaluated using CONTEMPLAS high-speed video tracking, providing measured XM(t) and YM(t) trajectories and joint-angle histories for quantitative comparison with simulations via RMSE metrics. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue IFToMM for Sustainable Development Goals: Contributions from I4SDG 2025 Conference)
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19 pages, 18682 KB  
Article
The Impact of Kinematic Redundancy on the Energetic Performance of Robotic Manipulators
by Giuliano Fabris, Lorenzo Scalera and Alessandro Gasparetto
Robotics 2026, 15(3), 51; https://doi.org/10.3390/robotics15030051 - 27 Feb 2026
Viewed by 633
Abstract
Energy efficiency is a challenging research topic in robotics, since it can reduce operating costs and increase production sustainability. In this paper, we present a strategy for energy-efficient trajectory planning in redundant robotic systems. The proposed approach aims at optimizing the solution of [...] Read more.
Energy efficiency is a challenging research topic in robotics, since it can reduce operating costs and increase production sustainability. In this paper, we present a strategy for energy-efficient trajectory planning in redundant robotic systems. The proposed approach aims at optimizing the solution of inverse kinematics at each of the waypoints that define the considered task, so as to minimize the energy consumption. The approach is validated with simulations and bespoke experiments on two different robotic systems with seven and eight degrees of freedom (DOFs). Two test cases are considered, i.e., a point-to-point motion and a pick-and-place task. The experimental results quantify the energy saving capabilities of the proposed approach up to 82.54% and 94.28% with the seven-DOF and eight-DOF robots, respectively, with respect to reference cases. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue IFToMM for Sustainable Development Goals: Contributions from I4SDG 2025 Conference)
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