Francesco Lupi

Università di Pisa | UNIPI · Department of Information Engineering

Today, globalized markets require more resilient and agile manufacturing systems, as well as customized and virtualized features. Classical self-standing manufacturing systems are evolving into collaborative networks such as Cloud Manufacturing (based on centralized knowledge and distributed resources) or Shared Manufacturing (based on fully decent...

Online control of Additive Manufacturing (AM) processes appears to be the next challenge in the transition toward Industry 4.0 (I4.0). Although many efforts have been dedicated by industry and research in the last decades, there remains substantial room for improvement. Additionally, the existing scientific literature lacks a wide-ranging identific...

Automated industrial Visual Inspection Systems (VIS) are typically customized for specific applications, limiting their flexibility. They are characterized by a demanding setup, high capital investments, and significant knowledge barriers. In this paper, we propose an alternative architecture for the visual inspection of 3D printed parts or complex...

Automated industrial Visual Inspection Systems (VIS) are predominantly designed for specific use cases, resulting in constrained adaptability, high setup requirements, substantial capital investments, and significant knowledge barriers. This paper explores the business potential of recent alternative architectures proposed in the literature for the...

This paper proposes and implements a novel pipeline for the self-reconfiguration of a flexible, reconfigurable, CAD-based, and autonomous Vision Inspection System (VIS), expanding upon the modular framework theoretically outlined in (Lupi, F., Maffei, A., & Lanzetta, M. (2024). CAD-based Autonomous Vision Inspection Systems. Procedia Computer Scien...

The paper, "Teaching Vision Inspection in Industrial Engineering: A Constructively Aligned Online Educational Unit Design," explores the application of the Constructive Alignment (CA) framework in teaching Vision Inspection Systems (VIS) to Industrial Engineering students. These systems are essential in modern manufacturing for automated defect ide...

The paper, "Setting the Stage for Innovation: Developing the Study Framework for the Enhancement of the CONALI Ontology in Education," focuses on improving educational practices through the development and application of the CONALI ontology. This ontology is a structured framework designed to help educators align instructional design with learning...

Reconfiguration activities remain a significant challenge for automated Vision Inspection Systems (VIS), which are characterized by hardware rigidity and time-consuming software programming tasks. This work contributes to overcoming the current gap in VIS reconfigurability by proposing a novel framework based on the design of Flexible Vision Inspec...

With the rapid and continuous advancements in technology, as well as the constantly evolving competences required in the field of engineering, there is a critical need for the harmonization and unification of engineering professional figures or archetypes. The current limitations in tymely defining and updating engineers' archetypes are attributed...

Grinding is a finishing process for high precision, high surface quality parts, and hard materials, including tool fabrication and sharpening. The recycling of grinding scraps, which often contain rare and costly materials such as tungsten carbide (WC-Co), has been established for decades. However, there is a growing need for more energy-efficient...

This work stimulates on the need to include sustainability topics in the existing I4.0-related curricula via dedicated educational units and evaluate the impact of such themes from the students' and educators' perspectives. A specific focus on the process followed to add a new educational unit on sustainability for the AM course at the University o...

Educational accreditation bodies provide standards of the programs that students should meet. This is a high-level and broad perspective guideline [1]. On the other hand, educational institutes define course syllabi or Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs) to guide the learning process and proffer a sense of measurable statement of acquiring a specific...

Modern pedagogy is moving away from traditional transmissive approaches, and it is extensively embracing constructive theory of learning. A prominent practical embodiment of this paradigm shift is a method called Constructive Alignment (CA). This approach focuses on learners’ actions and starts from a clear communication of the Intended Learning Ou...

A method for the surface reconstruction of 3D tubular branched structures characterized by low informative point clouds (i.e., 2.5D) is proposed. These specific clouds can arise when using photogrammetry techniques on complex subjects in challenging scanning environments (e.g., underwater gorgonian coral at mesophotic depths). The core idea behind...

The scientific literature search is a crucial enabler for the research process and one of the most problematic and inefficient activities that researchers must face. Most University students never experience scientific literature search, although research is the primary mission of the universities and one of the major activities of their professors...

The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly changed the education domain boosting its digitalization. A pedagogical shift from live to virtual teaching, learning, and assessment activities is the primary outcome of this transition. This work analyses two courses included in the Industrial Engineering program offered in two prominent European higher edu...

In the last decade, a shift toward Sustainable Development (SD) in engineering has started in the educational and occupational framework. Therefore, the need to rethink the professional figures of an engineer has become a necessity. Unfortunately, neither a formal methodology to define a standard engineer achetype nor procedural methods to evaluate...

The scientific literature search is a key enabler for the research process. However, since it presents a lack of systematic procedure, is one of the most problematic and inefficient activities that researchers need to face during the development of their state of the arts. Moreover, most University students never experience sci- scientific literatu...

Scientific publications discussing online/distance learning have significantly increased throughout the last decade. The COVID-19 pandemic represented an unexpected condition that significantly changed people´s lifestyle along with the education domain boosting even further its digitalization, mostly at higher levels. In this work, we assume that T...

This paper presents the development of a hardware/software system for the characterization of the electronic response of optical (camera) sensors such as matrix and linear color and monochrome Charge Coupled Device (CCD) or Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor (CMOS). The electronic response of a sensor is required for inspection purposes. It al...

This is a preprint, for the final version please refer to: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/355492969_Toward_a_sustainable_educational_engineer_archetype_through_Industry_40

The obligatory path towards a lean manufacturing organization requires assessment and monitoring. However, a lean assessment framework is not yet available for the engineer to order (ETO) scenario. This work explored ten lean ETO maturity principles—identified from the literature—that take insight from three formally defined sets (Toyota Way, lean...

The emerging of the fourth industrial revolution, also known as Industry 4.0 (I4.0), from the advancement in several technologies is viewed not only to promote economic growth, but also to enable a greener future. The 2030 Agenda of the United Nations for sustainable development sets out clear goals for the industry to foster the economy, while pre...