https://www.growbot.eu/), and the EU H2020 FET Environmental Intelligence project "I-Seed" (https://www.iseedproject.eu/). In May 2021, she launched her European Research Council (ERC) Consolidator Grant project, "I-Wood," which explores forest intelligence through robotic networks inspired by the Wood Wide Web.
She has extensive experience as a researcher and project manager on European projects related to biorobotics, soft robotics, and environmental robotics. Her notable projects include OCTOPUS (FP7-231608), HydroNet (FP7-212790), DustBot (FP6-045299), EMECAP (QLK4-CT-2000-00489), and the SeedBot ESA-ARIADNA Project.
Dr. Mazzolai has authored or co-authored over 260 papers in international journals, books, and conference proceedings. She has also published popular science books for both adults and children, including “La Natura Geniale” (2019) and "Il futuro raccontato dalle piante" (2021) with Longanesi Ed.; "Perché i robot sono stupidi e altre domande sulla tecnologia," co-authored with Federico Taddia (2021); and "L'incredibile Plantoide e i superpoteri del regno vegetale," co-authored with Chiara Valentina Segré (2022) (Editoriale Scienza).
Invited as a speaker at national and international scientific events, Dr. Mazzolai regularly organizes workshops and special sessions on soft robotics, bioinspired robotics, and plant-inspired growing robots at major conferences for both the scientific community and the general public. She is a member of the Executive Advisory Board of Advanced Intelligent Systems, the Editorial Board of Bioinspiration & Biomimetics, Soft Robotics, Biomimetics, and Robotics & Automation Letters. Additionally, she serves on the Editorial Advisory Board of Advanced Materials Technologies and is an Associate Editor for IEEE Transactions on Medical Robotics and Bionics, Frontiers in Bionics and Biomimetics, and Frontiers in Robotics and AI - Soft Robotics.
In 2023, she served as the General Chair of the International Conference on Living Machines. In 2024, she was the General Co-Chair of the IEEE RoboSoft Conference, and in 2020, she was the General Co-Chair of the I-RIM Conference. Additionally, she has served as an Associate Editor for ICRA (2016-2020), IEEE RA-L (2016-2020), and IROS (2013, 2017, 2020). She held the position of Interdisciplinary Program Co-Chair for RoboSoft (2018-2019) and Government Forum Co-Chair for IROS (2016). Dr. Mazzolai has also been the Publicity Co-Chair for BIOROB (2012) and the Workshop Co-Chair for both I-RIM (2019) and RoboSoft (2020).
She is a member of the IEEE, the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society (EMBS), the IEEE Robotics and Automation Society (RAS), the Materials Research Society (MRS), and the Italian Institute of Robotics and Intelligent Machines (I-RIM).
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https://www.growbot.eu/), and the EU H2020 FET Environmental Intelligence project "I-Seed" (https://www.iseedproject.eu/). In May 2021, she launched her European Research Council (ERC) Consolidator Grant project, "I-Wood," which explores forest intelligence through robotic networks inspired by the Wood Wide Web.
She has extensive experience as a researcher and project manager on European projects related to biorobotics, soft robotics, and environmental robotics. Her notable projects include OCTOPUS (FP7-231608), HydroNet (FP7-212790), DustBot (FP6-045299), EMECAP (QLK4-CT-2000-00489), and the SeedBot ESA-ARIADNA Project.
Dr. Mazzolai has authored or co-authored over 260 papers in international journals, books, and conference proceedings. She has also published popular science books for both adults and children, including “La Natura Geniale” (2019) and "Il futuro raccontato dalle piante" (2021) with Longanesi Ed.; "Perché i robot sono stupidi e altre domande sulla tecnologia," co-authored with Federico Taddia (2021); and "L'incredibile Plantoide e i superpoteri del regno vegetale," co-authored with Chiara Valentina Segré (2022) (Editoriale Scienza).
Invited as a speaker at national and international scientific events, Dr. Mazzolai regularly organizes workshops and special sessions on soft robotics, bioinspired robotics, and plant-inspired growing robots at major conferences for both the scientific community and the general public. She is a member of the Executive Advisory Board of Advanced Intelligent Systems, the Editorial Board of Bioinspiration & Biomimetics, Soft Robotics, Biomimetics, and Robotics & Automation Letters. Additionally, she serves on the Editorial Advisory Board of Advanced Materials Technologies and is an Associate Editor for IEEE Transactions on Medical Robotics and Bionics, Frontiers in Bionics and Biomimetics, and Frontiers in Robotics and AI - Soft Robotics.
In 2023, she served as the General Chair of the International Conference on Living Machines. In 2024, she was the General Co-Chair of the IEEE RoboSoft Conference, and in 2020, she was the General Co-Chair of the I-RIM Conference. Additionally, she has served as an Associate Editor for ICRA (2016-2020), IEEE RA-L (2016-2020), and IROS (2013, 2017, 2020). She held the position of Interdisciplinary Program Co-Chair for RoboSoft (2018-2019) and Government Forum Co-Chair for IROS (2016). Dr. Mazzolai has also been the Publicity Co-Chair for BIOROB (2012) and the Workshop Co-Chair for both I-RIM (2019) and RoboSoft (2020).
She is a member of the IEEE, the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society (EMBS), the IEEE Robotics and Automation Society (RAS), the Materials Research Society (MRS), and the Italian Institute of Robotics and Intelligent Machines (I-RIM).
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https://www.growbot.eu/), and the EU H2020 FET Environmental Intelligence project "I-Seed" (https://www.iseedproject.eu/). In May 2021, she launched her European Research Council (ERC) Consolidator Grant project, "I-Wood," which explores forest intelligence through robotic networks inspired by the Wood Wide Web.
She has extensive experience as a researcher and project manager on European projects related to biorobotics, soft robotics, and environmental robotics. Her notable projects include OCTOPUS (FP7-231608), HydroNet (FP7-212790), DustBot (FP6-045299), EMECAP (QLK4-CT-2000-00489), and the SeedBot ESA-ARIADNA Project.
Dr. Mazzolai has authored or co-authored over 260 papers in international journals, books, and conference proceedings. She has also published popular science books for both adults and children, including “La Natura Geniale” (2019) and "Il futuro raccontato dalle piante" (2021) with Longanesi Ed.; "Perché i robot sono stupidi e altre domande sulla tecnologia," co-authored with Federico Taddia (2021); and "L'incredibile Plantoide e i superpoteri del regno vegetale," co-authored with Chiara Valentina Segré (2022) (Editoriale Scienza).
Invited as a speaker at national and international scientific events, Dr. Mazzolai regularly organizes workshops and special sessions on soft robotics, bioinspired robotics, and plant-inspired growing robots at major conferences for both the scientific community and the general public. She is a member of the Executive Advisory Board of Advanced Intelligent Systems, the Editorial Board of Bioinspiration & Biomimetics, Soft Robotics, Biomimetics, and Robotics & Automation Letters. Additionally, she serves on the Editorial Advisory Board of Advanced Materials Technologies and is an Associate Editor for IEEE Transactions on Medical Robotics and Bionics, Frontiers in Bionics and Biomimetics, and Frontiers in Robotics and AI - Soft Robotics.
In 2023, she served as the General Chair of the International Conference on Living Machines. In 2024, she was the General Co-Chair of the IEEE RoboSoft Conference, and in 2020, she was the General Co-Chair of the I-RIM Conference. Additionally, she has served as an Associate Editor for ICRA (2016-2020), IEEE RA-L (2016-2020), and IROS (2013, 2017, 2020). She held the position of Interdisciplinary Program Co-Chair for RoboSoft (2018-2019) and Government Forum Co-Chair for IROS (2016). Dr. Mazzolai has also been the Publicity Co-Chair for BIOROB (2012) and the Workshop Co-Chair for both I-RIM (2019) and RoboSoft (2020).
She is a member of the IEEE, the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society (EMBS), the IEEE Robotics and Automation Society (RAS), the Materials Research Society (MRS), and the Italian Institute of Robotics and Intelligent Machines (I-RIM).
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ERC - ERC grant(s) Title
ERC grant(s)
Divider
IIT People Search
I-WOOD
H2020 ERC - Consolidator Grant 2021-2026
Forest Intelligence: robotic networks inspired by the Wood Wide Web
Abstract: Plants are connected to each other by an underground network of fungi that provide them with nutrients, help share resources, and extend their perception abilities. This mycorrhizal network, known as the Wood Wide Web, plays a crucial role in maintaining healthy natural ecosystems, and in limiting the global warming. Thus, it must be preserved in order to mitigate the speeding up of the carbon cycle and its effects on climate change. Robotics and Artificial Intelligence (AI) can offer concrete solutions for a deeper analysis of natural processes at the basis of this global change and for developing sustainable technologies. Based on that, I-Wood proposes a new paradigm of virtual and physical robotic networks inspired by the belowground fungus-mediated inter-plant communication and by the associated collective behaviours. Specifically, I- Wood will study, extract and formalize the rules of plant-fungus interaction mechanisms to develop: a plant-inspired perceptron-like model; and a new generation of plant-inspired robots able to explore soil using their roots with growing, ageing, branching, and elongating abilities in response to their network-augmented perception and implementing plant- inspired collective behaviours. By imitating plants, these distributed intelligent systems will co-develop morphology and behaviour in a dynamic environment. Impact and feasibility of the proposed approach will be tested in a mixed social network, scale-down in a confined environment, where robots will interact with real plants to facilitate the development of mycorrhizal networks. Grounded on a strong multi-disciplinary approach, I-Wood will pave the way for new paradigms in robotics and embodied AI, based on solutions that overcome the current animal-based or brain-based model, novel approaches for the use of robotics in biology and for new scientific knowledge on plants community with a major significance for biodiversity and climate protection.