Isabella FiorelloIstituto Italiano di Tecnologia | IIT · Center for Micro-BioRobotics
Isabella Fiorello
Biotechnologist
Postdoctoral Researcher in Bioinspired Robotics
About
21
Publications
5,012
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120
Citations
Citations since 2017
Introduction
Isabella Fiorello is a Postdoctoral Researcher at the Italian Institute of Technology, Bioinspired Soft Robotics Laboratory (BSR@IIT) in Pontedera (Italy). She received a Master Degree in Industrial Biotechnology (with honors) from the University of Turin, in April 2017. In June 2021, she obtained a Ph.D. in Biorobotics (with honors) from Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna in Pisa. Her research aimed at the development of bioinspired smart materials and miniaturized soft robots for harsh environments.
Additional affiliations
October 2017 - present
Education
October 2017 - June 2021
December 2014 - April 2017
September 2011 - December 2014
Publications
Publications (21)
In this work, we present an artificial dry adhesive system inspired by the leaf-climbing mechanisms in Galium aparine. Among the different species of climbing plants, G. aparine shows a unique capability of adhesion to a wide range of roughness and stiffness objects, mainly via its leaves, using microscopic hooks for the physical interlocking. The...
In this work, we present a biomimetic device, with micro-prickle-like hooks capable of variable stiffness remotely controlled by a laser. We designed artificial prickles taking inspiration from the geometry of the natural prickles of the climbers Rosa arvensis ‘Splendens’, which has a peculiar downward orientation of the tip. We fabricated artifici...
One of the major challenges in robotics and engineering is to develop efficient technological solutions that are able to cope with complex environments and unpredictable constraints. Taking inspiration from natural organisms is a well-known approach to tackling these issues. Climbing plants are an important, yet innovative, source of inspiration du...
Climbing plants have evolved over millions of years and have adapted to unpredictable scenarios in unique ways. These crucial features make plants an outstanding biological model for scientists and engineers. Inspired by the ratchet‐like attachment mechanism of the hook‐climber Galium aparine , a novel micropatterned flexible mechanical interlocker...
Here, we propose a microfabricated soft probe for soil drilling inspired by the seeds of the Erodium malacoides plant. Firstly, we studied the morphology and biomechanics of the head of Erodium, which is called capsule. Secondly, based on the extracted biological parameters, we designed the artificial capsule-like probe. Then, we microfabricated ar...
Plants have evolved different mechanisms to disperse from parent plants and improve germination to sustain their survival. The study of seed dispersal mechanisms, with the related structural and functional characteristics, is an active research topic for ecology, plant diversity, climate change, as well as for its relevance for material science and...
Here, we introduce a plant-inspired controllable micro-snap fastener for the remote release of objects at the microscale. The devices consist of two complementary parts, an
“active hooked part” (realized with an array of Rosa arvensis-like microspines), and a “passive looped part”. They were microfabricated at high resolution using two-photon
litho...
New sustainable strategies for preserving plants are crucial for tackling environmental challenges. Bioinspired soft and miniature machines have the potential to operate in forests and agricultural fields by adapting their morphology to plant organs like leaves. However, applications on leaf surfaces are limited due to the fragility and heterogenei...
New sustainable strategies for preserving plants are crucial for tackling environmental challenges. Bioinspired soft and miniature machines have the potential to operate in forests and agricultural fields by adapting their morphology to plant organs like leaves. However, applications on leaf surfaces are limited due to the fragility and heterogenei...
In this work, we propose novel micropatterned devices for reversible attachment inspired by climbing plants. We designed and fabricated bioinspired artificial microhooks (MH) using two-photon lithography. The MH-based adhesives were fully characterized in terms of attachment forces both as individual and arrays. Specifically, the adhesives were tes...
Plants are getting increasing interest from scientists for the development of novel biomimetic products. Especially, the stems of climbing plants possess impressively high-adaptable materials, which can be relevant in robotics for the development of new machines able to work in unpredictable environments. In this work, we present a study on the mec...
It has been 10 years since the publication of the first article looking at plants as a biomechatronic system and as model for robotics. Now, roboticists have started to look at plants differently and consider them as a model in the field of bioinspired robotics. Despite plants have been seen traditionally as passive entities, in reality they are ab...
In article number 2003380, Isabella Fiorello, Barbara Mazzolai, and co‐workers develop innovative climbing plant‐inspired flexible micro‐patterned devices for reversible attachment using a two‐photon lithography system. The microfabricated devices demonstrate strong interlocking over a wide range of rough surfaces, such as abrasive materials, fabri...
The aim of this work is to investigate the properties of biofilms, spontaneously grown on cathode electrodes of single-chamber microbial fuel cells, when used as catalysts for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). To this purpose, a comparison between two sets of different carbon-based cathode electrodes is carried out. The first one (Pt-based biocathod...
Cathodic biofilms (CBFs) working as biocatalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction in Microbial Fuel Cells (MFCs) have rarely been employed in single-chamber devices. In this work, CBFs were grown starting from freshwater river sediment, employing two different methods: a commonly employed method, consisting in polarizing the cathodic electrode wit...
Projects
Projects (2)
Spyro' is engaged with two soft hemispherical wheels each fabricated using silicone and textiles-based materials to have more adaptability to varying terrain. Since the softness guarantees compliancy with two internal chambers, powered and selectively actuated by pneumatics separated by thin membrane of silicone. The respective chambers are inflated and deflated in different combinations in order to have better adaptability during locomotion with unstructured terrain and rugged obstacles.
