Raffaello D’Andrea (born August 13, 1967 in Pordenone, Italy) a Canadian-Italian-Swiss engineer, artist, and entrepreneur. He is professor of dynamic systems and control at
ETH Zurich
(colloquially)
, former_name = eidgenössische polytechnische Schule
, image = ETHZ.JPG
, image_size =
, established =
, type = Public
, budget = CHF 1.896 billion (2021)
, rector = Günther Dissertori
, president = Joël Mesot
, ac ...
. He is a co-founder of
Kiva Systems
Amazon Robotics, formerly Kiva Systems, is a Massachusetts-based company that manufactures mobile robotic fulfillment systems. It is a subsidiary company of Amazon.com and its automated storage and retrieval systems were previously used by compa ...
(now operating as
Amazon Robotics
Amazon Robotics, formerly Kiva Systems, is a Massachusetts-based company that manufactures mobile robotic fulfillment systems. It is a subsidiary company of Amazon.com and its automated storage and retrieval systems were previously used by compa ...
), and the founder of Verity. He was the faculty advisor and system architect of the Cornell Robot Soccer Team, four time world champions at the annual RoboCup competition. He is a new media artist, whose work includes The Table,
the Robotic Chair,
and Flight Assembled Architecture.
He was a speaker at TED Global 2013 and spoke at TED 2016 held in February. He has won the 2016
IEEE Robotics and Automation Award
The IEEE Robotics and Automation Award is a Technical Field Award of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) that was established by the IEEE Board of Directors in 2002. This award is presented for contributions in the fi ...
.
D'Andrea was elected a member of the
National Academy of Engineering
The National Academy of Engineering (NAE) is an American nonprofit, non-governmental organization. The National Academy of Engineering is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy ...
in 2020 for contributions to the design and implementation of distributed automation systems for commercial applications. In 2022, D'Andrea, along with Mick Mountz and Peter Wurman, was inducted into th
National Inventors Hall of Fame® (NIHF)for the creation of the Kiva system, a mobile robotic material handling and order fulfillment solution that dramatically advanced warehouse order fulfillment for e-commerce.
Life
Born in Pordenone, Italy, D’Andrea moved to Canada in 1976, where he graduated valedictorian from Anderson Collegiate in Whitby, Ontario. He received a Bachelor of Applied Science from the
University of Toronto
The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...
, graduating in Engineering Science (Major in Electrical and Computer Engineering) in 1991 and winning the Wilson Medal as the top graduating student that year. In 1997 he received a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from the
California Institute of Technology
The California Institute of Technology (branded as Caltech or CIT)The university itself only spells its short form as "Caltech"; the institution considers other spellings such a"Cal Tech" and "CalTech" incorrect. The institute is also occasional ...
, under the supervision of John Doyle and Richard Murray.
He joined the Cornell faculty in 1997.
While on sabbatical in 2003, he co-founded
Kiva Systems
Amazon Robotics, formerly Kiva Systems, is a Massachusetts-based company that manufactures mobile robotic fulfillment systems. It is a subsidiary company of Amazon.com and its automated storage and retrieval systems were previously used by compa ...
with
Mick Mountz and
Peter Wurman.
He became Kiva Systems’ chief technical advisor in 2007 when he was appointed professor of dynamic systems and control at ETH Zurich.
He founde
Veritywith Markus Waibel and Markus Hehn in 2014.
Work
Academic work
After receiving his PhD in 1997, he joined the
Cornell
Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...
faculty as an assistant professor, where he was a founding member of the Systems Engineering program, and where he established robot soccer — a competition featuring fully autonomous robots — as the flagship, multidisciplinary team project.
In addition to pioneering the use of semi-definite programming for the design of distributed control systems, he went on to lead the Cornell Robot Soccer Team to four world championships at international
RoboCup
RoboCup is an annual international robotics competition founded in 1996 by a group of university professors (including Hiroaki Kitano, Manuela M. Veloso, and Minoru Asada). The aim of the competition is to promote robotics and AI research by offer ...
competitions in Sweden, Australia, Italy, and Japan.
After being appointed professor at
ETH Zurich
(colloquially)
, former_name = eidgenössische polytechnische Schule
, image = ETHZ.JPG
, image_size =
, established =
, type = Public
, budget = CHF 1.896 billion (2021)
, rector = Günther Dissertori
, president = Joël Mesot
, ac ...
in 2007, D’Andrea established a research program that combined his broad interests and cemented his hands-on teaching style. His team engages in cutting edge research by designing and building creative experimental platforms that allow them to explore the fundamental principles of robotics, control, and automation.
His creations include the Flying Machine Arena, where flying robots perform aerial acrobatics, juggle balls, balance poles, and cooperate to build structures; the Distributed Flight Array, a flying platform consisting of multiple autonomous single propeller vehicles that are able to drive, dock with their peers, and fly in a coordinated fashion; the Balancing Cube, a dynamic sculpture that can balance on any of its edges or corners; Blind Juggling Machines that can juggle balls without seeing them, and without catching them; and the Cubli, a cube that can jump up, balance, and walk.
Entrepreneurial work
D’Andrea co-founded
Kiva Systems
Amazon Robotics, formerly Kiva Systems, is a Massachusetts-based company that manufactures mobile robotic fulfillment systems. It is a subsidiary company of Amazon.com and its automated storage and retrieval systems were previously used by compa ...
in 2003 with
Mick Mountz and
Peter Wurman. He became chief technical advisor when he was appointed professor of dynamic systems and control at ETH Zurich in 2007. At Kiva, he led the systems architecture, robot design, robot navigation and coordination, and control algorithms efforts.
D’Andrea founded Verity in 2014 with Markus Hehn and Markus Waibel. The stated purpose of the company is "to develop autonomous indoor drone systems and related technologies for commercial applications."
The company partnered with
Cirque du Soleil
Cirque du Soleil (, ; "Circus of the Sun" or "Sun Circus") is a Canadian entertainment company and the largest contemporary circus producer in the world. Located in the inner-city area of Saint-Michel, it was founded in Baie-Saint-Paul on 16 Ju ...
to create Sparked, a live interaction between humans and quadcopters. Verity also provides autonomous drone technology for large concert tours like
Metallica
Metallica is an American heavy metal band. The band was formed in 1981 in Los Angeles by vocalist/guitarist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich, and has been based in San Francisco for most of its career. The band's fast tempos, instrume ...
's
WorldWired Tour
The WorldWired Tour was a concert tour by American heavy metal band Metallica in support of their tenth studio album '' Hardwired... to Self-Destruct'', which was released on November 18, 2016. It is also their first worldwide tour after the Wo ...
,
Drake (musician)
Aubrey Drake Graham ( ; born October 24, 1986) is a Canadian rapper and singer. An influential figure in contemporary popular music, Drake has been credited for popularizing singing and R&B sensibilities in hip hop. He gained recognition by ...
's
Aubrey & the Three Migos Tour
Aubrey & the Three Migos Tour, presented as Aubrey & The Three Migos Tour LIVE!, was a co-headlining tour by Canadian rapper Drake, and American hip hop trio Migos. The tour began on August 12, 2018, in Kansas City, and concluded on November 18 ...
and
Assassination Vacation Tour
Assassination is the murder of a prominent or VIP, important person, such as a head of state, head of government, politician, world leader, member of a royal family or CEO. The murder of a celebrity, activist, or artist, though they may not hav ...
, as well as
Celine Dion
Céline Marie Claudette Dion ( ; born 30 March 1968) is a Canadian singer. Noted for her powerful and technically skilled vocals, Dion is the best-selling Canadian recording artist, and the best-selling French-language artist of all time. Her ...
's
Courage World Tour
The Courage World Tour is the fourteenth concert tour by Canadian singer Celine Dion, in support of her English-language studio album ''Courage'' (2019). It was her first world tour in over a decade, since her Taking Chances World Tour. The tou ...
. Since 2016, D'Andrea and Verity have been focused on delivering autonomous inventory drone systems for commercial warehouses to support inventory checking and other use cases.
Artistic work
D’Andrea and Canadian artist Max Dean unveiled their collaborative work The Table at the
Venice Biennale
The Venice Biennale (; it, La Biennale di Venezia) is an international cultural exhibition hosted annually in Venice, Italy by the Biennale Foundation. The biennale has been organised every year since 1895, which makes it the oldest of ...
in 2001. They orchestrate a scenario wherein a spectator, selected by the table, becomes a performer, who is now an object not only of the table's "attention", but also of the other viewers'.
It is part of the permanent collection of the
National Gallery of Canada
The National Gallery of Canada (french: Musée des beaux-arts du Canada), located in the capital city of Ottawa, Ontario, is Canada's national art museum. The museum's building takes up , with of space used for exhibiting art. It is one of the l ...
(NGC).
The Robotic Chair was created by D’Andrea, Max Dean, and Canadian artist Matt Donovan.
It is an ordinary looking chair that falls apart and re-assembles itself. It was first unveiled to the general public at IdeaCity in 2006. It is part of the permanent collection of the National Gallery of Canada (NGC).
D’Andrea and Swiss architects
Gramazio & Kohler created Flight Assembled Architecture, the first architectural installation assembled by flying robots. It took place at the FRAC Centre Orléans in France in 2011-2012. The installation consists of 1,500 modules put into place by a multitude of quadrotor helicopters. Within the build, an architectural vision of a 600-metre high "vertical village" for 30,000 inhabitants unfolds as a model in 1:100 scale. It is in the permanent collection of the FRAC Centre.
Awards and honors
* 2020
National Academy of Engineering
The National Academy of Engineering (NAE) is an American nonprofit, non-governmental organization. The National Academy of Engineering is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy ...
Member
* 2020
National Inventors Hall of Fame
The National Inventors Hall of Fame (NIHF) is an American not-for-profit organization, founded in 1973, which recognizes individual engineers and inventors who hold a U.S. patent of significant technology. Besides the Hall of Fame, it also opera ...
Inductee
*2016
IEEE Robotics and Automation Award
The IEEE Robotics and Automation Award is a Technical Field Award of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) that was established by the IEEE Board of Directors in 2002. This award is presented for contributions in the fi ...
* 2015 Engelberger Robotics Award
* 2008 IEEE/IFR Invention and Entrepreneurship Award
* 2002
Presidential Early Career Award
References
External links
Home Page
{{DEFAULTSORT:D'Andrea, Raffaello
Electronics engineers
Living people
1967 births
Cornell University faculty