CV

General Information

Full Name Mattia Pugliatti
Date of Birth 13th April 1993
Languages Italian, English

Education

  • Nov. 2019 - Nov. 2023
    PhD and Early Stage Researcher
    Politecnico di Milano, Milan, Italy
    • Artificial intelligence for enhanced optical navigation techniques around small-bodies.
    • Mission analysis, image processing, and GNC design of the Milani mission. Team leader of the GNC group for the Milani mission.
    • Marie Skłodowska Curie ESR13 of Stardust-R, the European Training Network on asteroids and space debris.
    • Thesis on Data-Driven Image Processing for Enhanced Vision-Based Applications Around Small Bodies with Machine Learning, cum laude.
  • Sep. 2015 - Mar. 2018
    M.Sc. in Spaceflight
    Delft University of Technology Delft, The Netherlands
    • Specialization in space exploration, transfer orbit profile.
    • key courses on Mission Geometry and Orbit design, Planetary sciences, Astrodynamics I & II, Space Project, Microsatellite engineering.
    • Thesis on the Extended Tisserand–Poincaré graph for multi-body trajectory design in the patched CR3BP model.
    • Final grade of 9.5/10 Cum Laude. Manuscript available at TU Delft repository.
  • Sep. 2012 - Sep. 2015
    B.Sc. in Aerospace engineering
    Politecnico di Milano, Milan, Italy
    • Key courses on Fundamental of Space Missions, Applied Numerical Analysis, Theoretical Mechanics, Automatic Control.
    • Final grade of 106/110.

Experience

  • Feb. 2023 - May 2023
    Visiting researcher
    Deutsches Forschungszentrum für Künstliche Intelligenz (DFKI), Bremen, Germany
    • Visiting researcher under the supervision of Dr. Marko Jankovic and Shubham Vyas.
    • Visual digital twin of an analog crater facility for data-driven applications.
    • Dataset generation with a Vicon-drone camera setup. Pose and visual labeling of the images with a digital twin.
  • Sep. 2021 - Jan 2022
    Visiting researcher
    University of Arizona (UoA), Tucson, Arizona
    • Visiting researcher under the supervision of professor Roberto Furfaro.
    • Deep-learning and convolutional extreme learning machine methods for precise optical navigation in the proximity of a small-body.
    • Recurrent neural networks and reinforcement learning for autonomous close-proximity operations.
  • Sep. 2018 - Sep. 2019
    GNC project engineer
    GMV, Madrid, Spain
    • GNC project engineer of the HERA mission, a technology demonstration mission to visit the Didymos binary system.
    • Design and testing of the visual based navigation strategy for the proximity operation phases of the Hera mission for phases A and B1.
    • Incremental testing and validation campaign using higher fidelity models. Model-in-the-loop (with PANGU), software-in-the-loop and hardware-in-the-loop (responsible for the optical facility testbench and robotic facility simulations).
  • Mar. 2017 - Nov. 2017
    Visiting researcher
    ISAS/JAXA, Sagamihara, Japan
    • Visiting researcher under the supervision of professor Yasuhiro Kawakatsu.
    • Member of the trajectory design teams of EQUULEUS CubeSat and DESTINY smallsat missions.
  • Jul. 2016 - Dec. 2016
    Internship
    Airbus Defence and Space, Friedrichsafen, Germany
    • Mission and spacecraft design of 𝑁𝐸𝑂𝑇𝜔𝐼𝑆𝑇, a low-cost impactor demonstration and characterization mission on Itokawa. Part of the NEOShield-2 project, supported by the European programme H2020.
    • Focus on the flyby trajectory and formation flight design, high level assessment of a tracking strategy, and system engineering design of the flyby module.

Honors and Awards

  • 2023
    • ASI (Italian Space Agency) Scholarship for 74th IAC and 21st SGC
    • 5 scholarships provided to Italian researchers to participate to the 74th IAC and 21st SGC in Baku, Azerbaijan.
  • 2023
    • MDPI travel award 2023
    • Award to take part in international conferences in the aerospace community in 2024
  • 2022
    • Progetto Roberto Rocca
    • Scholarship provided to fund 6-12 months of research stays at MIT for 5-6 Politecnico di Milano PhD students every year to increse cooperation between the two universities.
  • 2016
    • Erasmus+
    • Grant provided with the aim to increase the mobility of students within the EU, sustaining them while experiencing other cultures
  • 2012
    • Excellence award
    • Registration in the national record of Italian excellences after graduating with 100/100 'cum Laude' from Scientific and Technological high school Luigi Galvani

Other Interests

  • Hobbies: Backpacking, cycling, tennis, and bouldering.