Erik Franco – Pagina 21 – Progress in Research

Violinmaking meets artificial intelligence

Posted on 13/08/202106/08/2024 by Erik Franco

It is possible, thanks to Artificial Intelligence, to predict the sound produced by a tonewood block once carved into the shape of a violin plate and to understand what is the best shape for the best sound: this is the conclusion that researchers of the Musical Acoustics Lab of Politecnico di Milano, located in the premises of the Museo del Violino di Cremona.

In the article “A Data-Driven Approach to Violinmaking”, published on Nature Scientific Reports, the Chilean physicist and luthier Sebastian Gonzalez (post-doc researcher) and the professional mandolin player Davide Salvi (PhD student) show how a simple and effective neural network is able to predict the vibrational behavior of violin plates. This prediction is obtained from a limited set of geometric and mechanical parameters of the plate.

The first step was to develop a model that describes the violin’s outline as the conjunction of arcs of nine circles. Thanks to this representation and an efficient model of the curvature of the plate, based on the renowned “Messiah” violin by Stradivarius, researchers were able to draw a violin plate as a function of 35 parameters.

By randomly changing such parameters, such as radii and center position of the circles, arching, thickness, mechanical characteristics of the wood, etc., they built a dataset of violins, which includes shapes that are very similar to those used in violin making, but also designs that had never been seen before. Such shapes constituted the input for the neural network.

Advanced tools for the modeling of vibrations were used for characterizing the acoustic behavior of each violin in the dataset.

Finally, it was possible to verify that the neural network is able to predict the acoustic behavior of a violin plate, starting from its parameters: the answer turned out to be positive, with an accuracy that came close to 98%.

This work offers an innovative and promising tool in the hands of violin makers: by using a neural network, it will enable luthiers to predict how a tonewood block will “sound” once carved into a plate. But it can also be used to design two violins with matching acoustic behavior even if built with different wood. In the future this research will allow us to select the best wood to be used for a particular violin, something that today is still based on purely aesthetic considerations.

The project was financed by Distretto Culturale della Liuteria di Cremona (Cultural District of Liuteria di Cremona).

2Exciting

Posted on 10/08/202106/08/2024 by Erik Franco

The 2Exciting network, coordinated by Thomas Heine, Professor of Theoretical Chemistry at TU Dresden, Germany, aims to develop the next generation of scientists with high level skills and understanding of the rapidly evolving field of nano – optoelectronics, the study and applications of electronic devices that interact with light in 2D materials, specifically, layers of semiconductors a few atoms thick.

The goal of 2Exciting is training early career researchers in an unmatched combination of scientific and complementary skills. The trainees will study the fundamental physics of the light-matter interaction in two-dimensional semiconductor materials to develop innovative optoelectronic devices for telecommunications and next generation technology applications.

Technology based on atomically thin, two-dimensional semiconductors (2DS) will underpin the next generation of innovations in computing, energy, and beyond. Due to the strong light-matter interaction at the nano (2D) scale scientists can find new ways of controlling electrical and optical properties and develop strategies to artificially tailor the optoelectronic properties for a range of existing or emerging applications in electronics, energy storage, sensors, and catalysis.

The fast growth of industrial applications of 2DS in the imminent future, where Europe is in an excellent starting position, is at risk due to a shortage of highly skilled and qualified researchers and developers with specific experience in this field. This is where the 2Exciting Network comes in.

The 2EXCITING brings together eight academic groups that are amongst Europe’s key players in the 2DS field and eight companies with very diverse profiles, to train fifteen Early Stage Researchers (ESRs) in scientific and soft skills. The network training programme, which comprises three winter schools and three satellite events to the “Flatlands beyond Graphene” conference series, provides scientific and industrial training to all researchers of the network, with active participation of trainers from the involved non-academic partners, both on specific technology issues and on complementary skills such as technology transfer, entrepreneurship, and public outreach. A crucial piece of each trainee’s experience will be the opportunity to spend intersectoral and international secondments (be seconded from academia to industry or vice versa) for six months.

Christoph Gadermaier, of the Physics Department of Politecnico di Milano, commented:

An incredibly valuable opportunity to train the next generation of scientists in an area of highly relevant and strategic importance to the European Union. Although hidden from us in general, the science of optoelectronics and two-dimensional materials is the backbone of the Internet era and, attracting the best and brightest in this area, we guarantee Europe’s economy and security for years to come.

2Exciting was granted a budget of 3.92 million under Horizon 2020 Marie Skłodowska-Curie Action, Innovative Training Network Programme.

Recognition for Professors Arena and Azzone

Posted on 05/08/202106/08/2024 by Erik Franco

L’Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal published the paper “Mapping of internal audit research: A post-Enron structured literature review”, which examines how research on auditing has developed since 2005 and which works have most influenced the debate in this field.

The article by Professors Marika Arena and Giovanni Azzone of the Department of Management, Economics and Industrial Engineering, “Identifying organisational drivers of internal audit effectiveness”, published in 2009, was one of the most relevant: in fact, it is third in the world for total number of citations and second for average number of citations per year. This study analyses data from 153 Italian companies, showing which factors influence the effectiveness of internal audit and providing empirical evidence of which organisational choices could help increase it.

Agreement with Thales Alenia Space for the Space Economy

Posted on 04/08/202106/08/2024 by Erik Franco

Thales Alenia Space and the Politecnico di Milano have signed a cooperation agreement for technical-scientific activities and training that meshes perfectly with the national framework for the Space Economy.

Through this impactful scientific agreement, signed by Massimo Claudio Comparini, managing director of Thales Alenia Space Italy, and Ferruccio Resta, Rector of the Politecnico di Milano, a long-term project of strategic collaboration in cutting-edge topics has begun.

Research, innovation, and training will be closely tied to production and the economic context, in which space also becomes a strategic element for the territory through synergy between the university and enterprises, thereby expanding the initiatives already being developed with the National Aerospace Technology Cluster (CTNA) and the Lombardy Aerospace Cluster.

This common road is divided into specific paths: from primarily scientific collaborations aimed at basic research, to joint participation in national and international calls to reach advanced technical/engineering objectives, to the development of highly qualified human capital through the start of doctoral paths and curricular teaching initiatives.

We will welcome the challenges launched by the Space Economy, such as the enhancement of new applications and space-based services, the design and implementation of satellite constellations, satellite Internet, and spatial logistics and operations (maintenance satellites), with a particular focus on new satellite and quantum technologies.

Specific collaborations have already begun in the field of industrial robotics, automation, and the digital transformation of factories, as well as the sectors of satellite assembly, integration, and testing, programmes for colonizing the Solar System (Moon and Mars), and Quantum Technologies.

Since 2020, a Space Economy Observatory has also been active at the university, one of whose founding partners is Thales Alenia Space.

The New Space Economy involves unprecedented technological challenges. Together with the energy and digital transitions, it represents a platform for sustainable development on a global scale. This is why the Politecnico di Milano, which already holds an important position in many areas of science and space technologies, intends to play a primary role.

Rector Ferruccio Resta said.

The cooperation agreement with Thales Alenia Space is fully in line with the long-term vision that sees the university supporting enterprises and serving social needs and Italian competitiveness.

EmFi: a project to create sustainable and inclusive financial circuits

Posted on 03/08/202106/08/2024 by Erik Franco

Politecnico di Milano, through its QFinLab, coordinates the EmFi project – A special-purpose virtual currency for the Covid-19 socio-economic emergency in Italy. Partners of the project are Cefriel and Stirling University (Computing Science and Mathematics). Professors Emilio Barucci and Daniele Marazzina of the Department of Mathematics are the project managers for our university.

The project is funded by Algorand Foundation and is run in partnership with Comune di Milano (City Council of Milan), which is interested in validating the platform for supplying vouchers for textbooks to pupils at primary schools (cedole librarie).

The goal of the project is to study digital currencies supported by new generation Digital Ledger Technology (DLT). It is one of the first use cases in Europe of this kind of system for the distribution of aids to final users.

The intervention aims to experiment with special-purpose digital money and sustainable and inclusive financial circuits. Special-purpose digital money is about the management of financial resources for selected beneficiaries subject to pre-defined goals, particularly for the use of resources, like the support for primary school pupils. Sustainable and inclusive financial circuits aim to reach beneficiaries who could otherwise be out with the existing financial system (for instance the unbanked). Such individuals could easily become part of the EmFi innovative financial system, simply by means of a mobile app. Special-purpose money and financial circuits enable advanced interventions, whose desirable properties can be programmed and are supported by the technology.

This project is based on Algorand technology, a breakthrough Distributed Ledger Technology developed by the MIT professor and Turing Award Silvio Micali. Algorand represents a further innovation from models like Bitcoin and Ethereum. Noticeably, Algorand is also sustainable, secure and an extremely efficient technology.

Differently from many current systems for the distribution of resources, such as those based on vouchers or prepaid cards, EmFi relies on digital tokens for the creation of sustainable circuits. One of the main advantages of such an approach is disintermediation.

The COVID-19 emergency has clearly shown how public authorities need to efficiently reach also those potential targets of support interventions who are not included in traditional financial circuits. Applications based on DLTs are currently being studied by institutions like the ECB, many central banks, and regulators. They are of strong interest, since they offer a paradigm shift compared to traditional financial circuits, allowing you to reach individuals efficiently, safely and at limited cost.

The design of such innovative circuits, poses foundational questions, which will be addressed by the project: privacy, fraud prevention, clear identification of target beneficiaries (digital identity), provenance for the usage of resources linking sources to targets, and financial inclusion (particularly for unbanked or difficult to reach target beneficiaries).

Opening of the first TWIN Hut

Posted on 02/08/202106/08/2024 by Erik Franco

At the Passo della Cisa, the first TWIN Hut was opened, a welcoming structure for slow tourism along the Sentiero Italia CAI and the Via Francigena, built by the Politecnico di Milano and the Club Alpino Italiano as part of the TWIN – Trekking Walking and cycling for Inclusion project. The project is coordinated by the Politecnico and co-financed by CAI, involving a variety of different parties.

It has been developed thanks to the 2019 year edition of the Polisocial Award, the social responsibility programme of the Politecnico di Milano which uses funds from the Cinque Per Mille Fund to social research activities.

In a time when we are living in the midst of speed, when it is believed that being fast is the only way to overcome crises – while those who are slow are destined to fail – the research team would like to argue that slowness is a valuable resource, which we cannot do without and given its benefits, which we should encourage.

The hut was built using salvaged wood from the Vaia storm which was treated in the carpentry workshop of the Monza prison. The structure is similar to a mountain bivouac, although it is not left to its own devices, but becomes a meeting point, a place of exchange where travellers meet the area and its inhabitants. The welcoming of pilgrims, hikers and cyclists will be guaranteed by the Berceto Nova Community Cooperative which, in collaboration with the Municipality of Berceto, will provide work for vulnerable people.

The entire TWIN Hut network is designed to maximise social solidarity benefits. The name of the project, TWIN, means “twin” because its key ideas are articulated by pairings: slow tourism and social inclusion, slow lines and recovery of underused spaces, infrastructure and services. The ambition is to define a replicable model for the regeneration of marginal and vulnerable areas affected by slow-moving lines, boosting local economies by means of mobile tourism along cycle paths and trails, which is an opportunity for social inclusion.

TWIN was created by a research group of engineers, architects and urban planners from the Department of Architecture and Urban Studies (DAStU) of the Politecnico di Milano, who had already designed VENTO, the longest tourist cycle path in Northern Italy. For more than ten years, the research group has been committed to designing a slow tourism vision for the regeneration of fragile territories. While VENTO has designed a 700 km long cycle path running along the banks of the River Po, TWIN is experimenting with a new area project for the renovation of paths through social inclusion practices. In addition to DAStU, the Department of Electronics, Information and Bioengineering (DEIB) and the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (DICA) are also involved in this challenge.

The first TWIN hut was built over two years of intense work, made possible thanks to the invaluable collaboration of other organisations that have supported TWIN’s ideas, such as the Italian Cycling Federation, the European Association of Vie Francigene and the Oscar Romero Social Solidarity Consortium, the teaching staff of the Meroni Secondary School in Lissone (MB), carpenter Gabriele Bertola and the Parma branch of the Italian Alpine Club.

A step forward towards an artificial model of the pancreas

Posted on 01/08/202106/08/2024 by Erik Franco

The collaboration between Humanitas University, Istituto Clinico Humanitas and Politecnico di Milano has led to the creation of an innovative laboratory for the biomechanical and functional characterisation of pancreatic tissue, to create a physical model (phantom) in artificial material for surgeons and trainees to train on, and to identify specific instruments for pancreatic surgery, such as glue and suture threads.

Doctors and engineers work side by side in the same laboratory, located close to the operating theatres, with the capability of transferring fresh tissue samples very rapidly and studying them together using sophisticated instrumentation. As no pancreas phantom exists to date, and there have been few studies on the mechanical characterisation of the organ, this is a unique project.

To further support the research pathway, a PhD scholarship has been launched as part of the PhD in Molecular and Experimental Medicine at Humanitas University, for which applications can now be submitted.

The research laboratory was born from the need of surgeons in the operating theatre: pancreatic surgery is one of the most complex, both because of its location and because of the characteristics of the organ itself. Furthermore, very often the instruments and materials used for pancreatic surgery are not specifically designed for the pancreas but are designed for other organs and then modified. Yet each organ has specific anatomical and functional characteristics: the pancreas, in particular, is responsible for the production of pancreatic juice, which is very corrosive and can erode stitches after surgery, with the possible risk of haemorrhage or infection.

Using a special machine, it is possible to study small portions of pancreatic tissue and identify characteristics such as its elastic form and mechanical strength, and then to work out its comprehensive characteristics.

explains Professor Maria Laura Costantino, President of MEDTEC School, Professor of Industrial Bioengineering and responsible for the Artificial Organs Laboratory, Department of Chemistry, Materials and Chemical Engineering “Giulio Natta” of the Politecnico di Milano.

This will enable innovative and specific materials to be identified for surgical glues and threads to be used in pancreas operations, leading to the development of an “artificial pancreas”: a model made of polymer material that exactly reproduces its shape and all its tactile, elastic and resistance characteristics, so that the surgeon can deal with the pancreas even outside the operating theatre. An important step forward.

An innovative technique to investigate the effects of glaucoma in the brain

Posted on 30/07/202106/08/2024 by Erik Franco

A non-invasive technique has been developed in the Department of Physics at the Politecnico di Milano to monitor the haemodynamic response in the brain to visual stimulation in patients affected by glaucoma. The results of the work were published in the journal Scientific Reports.

The clinical tests, authorized by the Ministry of Health and the Sacco Hospital Ethics Committee, was conducted on 98 patients (some with glaucoma, some healthy). The research group from the Politecnico di Milano worked in collaboration with the Sacco Hospital, IFN-CNR, and the Università degli Studi di Milano. The technique, called TD-fNIRS, consists of time-domain functional spectroscopy in the near infrared, which uses brief laser pulses to monitor haemodynamics in the brain with a quick measurement in the clinic.

‘For the first time with this technique, we have observed that in patients with glaucoma, the cerebral response when viewing something is more moderate with respect to the control group, confirming involvement of the visual cortex in patients with glaucoma, not only from the anatomical point of view (brain structure), but also from the functional point of view (how the brain responds to visual stimuli)’, explains Rebecca Re, one of the researchers from the Politecnico di Milano.

This discovery is an important step forward towards understanding the origin (neurological or ophthalmological) of the development of glaucoma. In the future, the TD-fNIRS technique may be applied directly in the clinic.

Fabbrica di Quartiere – Neighbourood Factory

Posted on 29/07/202106/08/2024 by Erik Franco

Fabbrica di Quartiere is a project that adopts an innovative multidisciplinary approach to redevelopment of neighbourhoods in the south-eastern quadrant of Milan: Scalo Romana Corvetto Nord, Calvairate Ortomercato, Rogoredo Santa Giulia, and Mecenate Case Bianche.

Headed up by the Politecnico di Milano (Department of Architecture and Urban Studies Urbani) and IULM, it also sees participation by local businesses and institutions: Conservatorio di Milano, Covivio, Fastweb S.p.A., Fondazione Snam, Lendlease, Risanamento S.p.A., SO.GE.MI. S.p.A, and the FenealUil trade union.

Fabbrica di Quartiere has been organised according to a “bottom-up” methodology, considering a subset of the city, one of its neighbourhoods or group of neighbourhoods that, due to size and characteristics, is significant for the development of the city today. With this change in perspective, it proposes study, definition of strategies and possible intervention for the neighbourhoods in the south-east area of Milan, with the aim of activating resources to tackle conditions related to the suburbs and marginality.

Fabbrica di Quartiere has identified four key elements in this zone: multi-ethnic populations, neighbourhood structures and infrastructures, transformation of disused areas and neighbourhood businesses. This formed the basis for reflection on the future of this “neighbourhood system”.

Fabbrica di Quartiere is continuing with development of tangible, feasible, sustainable projects: from improvement of the quality of the open areas between the public transport stations in Corso Lodi to construction of the eco-network between Parco Alessandrini and the Lambro eco-network, plus drawing up of a Strategic Plan for the ground floors of the Symbiosis district, Santa Giulia and the new fruit and vegetable market to ensure homogeneity and quality in services for social integration with the programming of cultural and other events for the squares in the Calvairate and Rogoredo neighbourhoods.

For each of these projects, reflection on new uses and new functions of public spaces goes hand in hand with the value and interest brought to the study by partner businesses that through Fabbrica di Quartiere have set up ongoing connections and dialogue the local area and its communities.

Fabbrica di Quartiere is run by a team comprising Alessandro Balducci from the Politecnico di Milano and Mario Abis from the IULM as Scientific Managers and Annarita Lapenna and Angela Airoldi as Project Managers.

Artery: the future of cardiovascular operations

Posted on 28/07/202106/08/2024 by Erik Franco

Structural heart disease will affect 20 million people over 65 across the European Union by 2040, including 2.5 million in Italy. Aortic stenosis, mitral regurgitation and tricuspid regurgitation are just a few examples of these types of diseases, which largely affect people in their later years and may soon become an emergency for society. They currently affect about 12.5% of the Italian population.

One of the research projects focused on addressing structural heart disease is ARTERY (Autonomous Robotics for Transcatheter dEliveRy sYstems), an H2020 project officially launched last January that includes the Politecnico di Milano (lead partner), with the collaboration of the Fondazione Politecnico di Milano and the IRCCS Ospedale San Raffaele. The research project is funded by the European Commission within the framework of the Horizon 2020 programme of innovation and development of the applications of robotics.

The project’s focus is the non-invasive treatment of heart valve disease, with the ultimate goal of ARTERY being to create a revolutionary robotic platform that makes use of artificial intelligence and augmented reality to develop new guidance and monitoring systems, as well as systems capable of training and supporting operators, making surgeries safer and more effective for the patient and eliminating the use of X-rays.

Implementing virtual reality solutions in the field of cardiovascular operations – as is the case with of ARTERY, in which the operator in training feels as though they are in a real operation and therefore also experiences the stressful situations involved – means radically improving the approach to surgery. Adding augmented reality into this also means integrating the information provided by wearable systems. This allows the surgeon to learn and practice on the simulator rather than the patient, removing the risks involved and effectively making it perfectly safe.

How are operations currently performed?

At the moment, these diseases require surgery, using either a traditional approach – i.e. open-heart surgery – or a percutaneous approach. In the latter case, the diseased structures are repaired or replaced by implanting one or more devices into the heart via a catheter, which makes its way to the heart itself through the blood vessels after being inserted through a small peripheral access point. As such, percutaneous surgery is much less invasive than classical surgery. However, percutaneous operations are technically quite complex to learn and perform, and necessarily involve the use of fluoroscopy – a method that requires the use of X-rays – to allow the surgeon to indirectly see the advancement of the catheter through the vessels and its movement within the heart. The radiation is a risk to the patient and, above all, the operators present in theatre.

How will operations be performed with ARTERY?

In the ARTERY project, a robotic platform will be created that will simplify percutaneous procedures and eliminate the need to use intraoperative X-rays. The surgeon will be able to interface with the robotic system through augmented reality, select the target point that the catheter needs to reach, and view the model of the catheter and the patient’s vascular tree. The system will be semi-autonomous and the decisions, although guided by artificial intelligence, will always be shared with and approved by the human operator. In essence, this will create an immersive and intuitive system in which the responsibility and supervision will be down to the operator, whilst the cardiovascular procedure itself will be performed by a robot, which will be supported by control systems – automatic pilots which can perform repetitive tasks in place of the operator, who nonetheless remains responsible for the operation as a whole.

Emiliano Votta, associate professor at the Politecnico di Milano, explains:

The ARTERY project will introduce two major innovations that will have a significant impact on heart operations: the remote control of robots through artificial intelligence and augmented reality – and therefore the ability to manage complex operations intuitively and potentially remotely – and the use of sensorised catheters, which will allow for greater control and precision in the catheter’s movements inside the patient’s body. These innovations will make percutaneous heart surgeries easier to learn and perform, as well as safer for both patients and operators.

To achieve this ambitious goal, the Politecnico di Milano is joining forces with the IRCCS Ospedale San Raffaele, which is providing clinical guidance for the development, the Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna in Pisa, which is in charge of the sensorisation of the system, the Université catholique de Louvain, which is in charge of the robotic implementation of the catheters, as well as three companies that will contribute to the motion-related aspects of the research, namely: FBGS, an expert in fibre-optic sensors, Artiness, an expert in augmented reality as applied to the medical field, and Swissvortex, an expert in transcatheter technology.