Fabrizio Schiano
Research Fellow at Leonardo Labs, Leonardo S.p.A.
Fabrizio received his bachelor's and master's degrees in automation engineering from the University of Naples Federico II (Italy) in 2010 and 2013, respectively. His master's thesis was conducted at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (ETHZ) and Disney Research Zurich (DRZ), focusing on wind effect estimation and correction on a quadrotor UAV. Between 2013 and 2014, he worked as a researcher at the Center for Telematics (ZfT) in Wurzburg, Germany. His main project involved controlling a dielectric elastomer generator (DEG) for energy harvesting applications. From 2014 to 2018, Fabrizio worked on his doctoral thesis at Inria Rennes (France) and Boston University (USA). The primary goal of his thesis was the autonomous navigation of a group of drones in unknown/unstructured environments using only onboard sensors (e.g., cameras, IMU) and local communication (e.g., WiFi). Between 2018 and 2021, he was a postdoctoral researcher and scientific collaborator at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL). His main activities included research, writing national/international proposals, supervising doctoral and master's students, and teaching/organizing the aerial robotics course.
In terms of research, during his time at EPFL, the research areas he was involved in included the design and development of modular aerial vehicles, aerial drone swarms, and human-robot interfaces (HRI). He also led a project for autonomous detection and deterrence of pigeons on buildings by drones using AI-based techniques.
Currently, Fabrizio works at Leonardo's Future Rotorcraft Technology Lab as a senior researcher, conducting research to utilize AI-based perception and sensor fusion algorithms to enhance the pilot's awareness of the external situation.
Fabrizio is passionate about new technologies such as autonomous vehicles and their potential impact on society. After nearly 10 years of academic research, he transitioned to the industry, holding the current position of research fellow at Leonardo.