D&C Lab

D&C Lab

D&C Lab

Lab full name
Decision and Control Laboratory
ERC 2nd Level Code
PE7 Systems and Communication Engineering
PE1 Mathematics
ERC 3rd level Code
PE7_1 Control engineering
PE1_19 Control theory and optimisation
Research Activities

Research Activities

The Decision and Control Laboratory (D&C Lab) is dedicated to advancing both theoretical and applied research in systems, control, optimization, and decision-making. Its mission is to contribute to scientific progress and technological innovation by engaging with public institutions and private enterprises at the regional, national, and international levels.

The D&C Lab’s work aligns with the disciplinary sector “Systems and Control Engineering” (09/G1), with a particular emphasis on fostering technology transfer and the dissemination of research outcomes across academic and industrial domains.

The laboratory is based on the university campus in Bari and operates within a multidisciplinary framework. Research and experimental activities are organized across the following main thematic areas:

1. Management and Control of Complex Systems

  • Development of advanced algorithms and ICT solutions for proactive decision-making in domains such as energy, transport, production, and healthcare

  • Decentralized and distributed control methods for large-scale interconnected systems

  • Optimization and supervisory control of complex processes and infrastructures

  • Decision support systems for intelligent transportation, multimodal logistics, and hazardous freight operations

  • Control strategies for smart mobility and the management of smart environments

  • Frameworks for the design and governance of smart grids, smart cities, and smart communities

  • Strategies for sustainable, intermodal, and co-modal mobility

  • ICT-based solutions for logistics, production, and health service management

  • Modeling, simulation, and control of discrete event systems

  • Nonlinear system modeling and control

2. Modeling, Control, and Optimization in Industrial Contexts

  • Methodologies supporting Industry 4.0 paradigms

  • Re-engineering and automation of industrial processes

  • Coordination strategies for multi-agent systems and sensor networks

  • Fault detection, isolation, and recovery mechanisms

  • Optimization of logistics, production, and distribution chains

  • Scheduling, workflow management, and decision support in manufacturing systems

  • Model-based techniques to enhance technological product/process efficiency

  • Decision-making under uncertainty and large-choice scenarios

  • Management of procurement and supply networks

  • Integration of best practices in advanced manufacturing

3. Management, Control, and Optimization of Energy Systems

  • Strategic level: Development of analytical and decision-support tools for urban policymakers focused on long-term energy efficiency strategies. Application domains include building and building grid sectors, public lighting systems, and integrated urban energy systems

  • Operational level: Control and scheduling strategies for smart energy users, optimization frameworks for smart homes and smart home networks, and solutions for the optimal charging of electric vehicles

Department
DEI
Contact Person
Mariagrazia Dotoli
mariagrazia.dotoli@poliba.it
Technical Staff
Raffaele Carli
raffaele.carli@poliba.it
Companies and Institutions
Research group led by Professor Slim Hammadi (école Centrale of Lille, France) on modelling and control of co-modal transport systems, and control and operative management of manufacturing systems
Research group led by Professor Bart de Schutter (Delft University of Technology, Netherlands) on the topic of railway transport optimization
Research group led by Professor Sergio Grammatico (Delft University of Technology, Netherlands) on the topic of decision and control techniques for energy systems
Research group led by Professor Cristian Mahulea (University of Zaragoza, Spain) on the topic of discrete event systems
Research group led by Professor Lidia Żakowska (Cracow University of Technology, Poland) on the topic of transport optimization
Research group led by Professor Alexander Fay (Hamburg Helmut Schmidt University, Germany) in the area of factory automation
Research group led by Professor Marek Miskowicz (AGH University of Science and Technology, Poland) in the area of the control of manufacturing systems
Research group led by Professor Bengt Lennartson (Chalmers University, Sweden) on the topic of scheduling techniques for automated manufacturing systems
Research group led by Professor Prof. Samuel Jia (Tsinghua University, China) on the topic of discrete event systems
Research group led by Professor Alessandra Parisio (Manchester University, UK) on the topic of decision and control techniques for energy systems
Research group led by Professor Alessandro Giua (Aix-Marseille Université AMU, France) on the topic of discrete event systems
Research group led by Professor MengChu Zhou (New Jersey Institute of Technology of Newark, USA) on the topic of control and management of distributed production systems
Research group led by Professor Antoine Salvatore Tabbone (Université de Nancy, France)
Research group led by Professor Ryozo Ooka (University of Tokyo, Japan) on the topic of smart design and control of energy storage systems
Research group led by Professor Carla Seatzu (Cagliari University) in the context of management and optimization of intermodal terminals
Research group led by Professor Michela Robba (University of Genoa) on the topic of automation and optimization for sustainable transportation and energy systems
Innolab S.r.l., spin-off of Politecnico di Bari
Elettric80 S.p.A.
Masmec S.p.A.
IBM
E-distribuzione
Centro Ricerche Fiat S.C.p.A.
Banque Centrale du Luxembourg
TERA S.r.l. (Bari)
Retegas Bari S.p.A. (Bari)
SimNT S.r.l. (Bari)
Ferrovie del Sud Est e Servizi Automobilisti S.r.l.
GTS (General Transport Service) S.p.A. (Bari)
Planetek (Bari)
Macnil Gruppo Zucchetti in Bari
Nicola Veronico S.r.l. in Bari
Dream Project S.p.A. in Barletta (BAT)
Tangari S.r.l. in Corato (BA)
Divella S.p.A. in Rutigliano (BA)
Cannillo S.r.l. in Corato (BA)
Primadonna S.p.A. di Bitonto (BA)
OM Carrelli Elevatori S.p.A. in Modugno (BA)
Projects
SMILE (Smart Islands Energy System) funded by the Research and Innovation program of Horizon 2020
MAIA (Active infrastructure monitoring), funded by the Italian Ministry for Education, University and Research (MIUR)
PICO&PRO (integrated and connected processes for the industrial production evolution), funded by the Italian Ministry for Education, University and Research (MIUR)
RAFAEL (System for risk Analysis and Forecast for critical infrastructure in the ApenninEs dorsaL Regions), funded by the Italian Ministry for Education, University and Research (MIUR)
NOVAE (Networks, Buildings, Roads: New virtuous objectives for the Environment and Energy), funded by the Ministry for Education, University and Research (MIUR) and by the Ministry of the Economic Development
UCCSM (An Urban Control Center for monitoring the energetic flows of Apulian municipalities)
SEMINA (Advanced systems for Smart Mobility in Agile Urban Networks)
Funding
Politecnico di Bari
European Commission
Ministry of the Economic Development
Elettric80 S.p.A.,
E-distribuzione
Masmec S.p.A.
GTS (General Transport Service) S.p.A
Banque Centrale du Luxembourg
Facilities
Workstations
Didactic collaborative robot
Mobile robotic platforms
Unmanned Aerial Vehicle
Arduino development boards
Programmable Logic Controllers
Softwares
Matlab & Simulink
Siemens Plant Simulation
Services
Modeling, control systems for industrial applications and optimization
Management and control of complex systems, smart systems and smart cities
Smartness and decision support systems
Modeling and non-linear control
Distributed optimization and consensus algorithms
StakeHolder
Graduate
Organizations and Enterprise
Ph.D. Student
Professor
Researcher
Student
Address / How to reach us
Department of Electrical and Information Engineering, via Orabona n. 4, 70125 BARI. Ex-Architecture building - 3rd floor - room 3.3
Hours
By appointment from Monday to Friday from 9.00 to 13.00 and from 15.00 to 18.00
Area (mq)
54
Link to external content
Website
LinkedIn
Instagram
Youtube

Departments

DEI : Department of Electrical and Information Engineering
DARCOD : Department of Architecture, Construction and Design
DICATECH : Department of Civil, Environmental, Land, Building Engineering and Chemistry
DIF : Department of Physics "Michelangelo Merlin"
DMMM : Department of Mechanics, Mathematics and Management

Erc Classification