PeopleofSuperintelligence

Researcher

Alberto Broggi

Alberto Broggi is an Italian engineer who has worked on computer vision for cars since the 1990s. He earned electronic engineering and information technology degrees at the University of Parma in 1990 and 1994. In 1998 his group drove a Lancia Thema 2,000 kilometers around Italy, and in 2010 he organized a test in which four electric vans drove from Parma to Shanghai. The IAPR and IEEE recognized his work in 2016 and 2017. Ambarella bought VisLab in 2015, and he is now its general manager.

Photo of Alberto Broggi

Timeline

  1. 1980s

    Games for the ZX Spectrum

    He develops software and video games for the ZX Spectrum in the 1980s, and several of his games are released commercially in Italy.

  2. 1990–1994

    Engineering degrees in Parma

    He earns an electronic engineering degree in 1990 and a PhD in information technology in 1994, both from the University of Parma.

  3. 1996–1998

    The ARGO test car

    His group builds ARGO in 1996, a Lancia Thema with vision sensors that can drive autonomously on standard roads. The group drives a Lancia Thema 2,000 kilometers around Italy in semi-autonomous mode in 1998.

  4. 2005

    A truck in the DARPA race

    The TerraMax truck, which carries VisLab's vision-based perception system, completes the 132-mile desert course of the DARPA Grand Challenge in 2005.

  5. 2009–2010

    VisLab and the Shanghai drive

    He and his students decide in 2009 to create a spin-off of the University of Parma. Four electric vans drive 13,000 kilometers from Parma to Shanghai in 2010, a drive he organizes as the VisLab Intercontinental Autonomous Challenge.

  6. 2013–2015

    BRAiVE and the Ambarella deal

    His lab tests the BRAiVE vehicle in downtown Parma in 2013, with no one in the driver's seat for part of the test. Ambarella acquires VisLab in 2015.

  7. 2016–2018

    IAPR and IEEE honors

    The International Association for Pattern Recognition names him a fellow in 2016 for computer vision-based advanced driver assistance and autonomous driving work. The IEEE gives him its Medal for Environmental and Safety Technologies in 2017. Popular Mechanics lists an autonomous vehicle vision system patent that he co-invented among its 15 Patents That Changed the World in 2018.

  8. As of October 2026

    General manager at VisLab

    He is general manager at VisLab, a University of Parma spin-off now owned by Ambarella. In 2025 he writes that one of the vehicles from the 2010 intercontinental drive is on display at the Italian National Automobile Museum.

Sources and credits

Photo: John Yannis, via Wikimedia Commons. License: CC0. Source: commons.wikimedia.org. Cropped to a square and resized. Ask us to remove or replace this photo.

  1. Alberto Broggi - Wikipedia en.wikipedia.org. Checked 14 October 2026.
  2. Alberto Broggi | Comunicazione Italiana: il link che unisce imprese e istituzioni old.comunicazioneitaliana.it. Checked 14 October 2026.
  3. Italian National Automobile Museum Exhibit Honors Legacy and Future of Autonomous Driving | Ambarella ambarella.com. Checked 14 October 2026.
  4. VisLab Ambarella's Alberto Broggi on the Evolution of Autonomous Driving Technologies - Franco Folini Blog francofolini.com. Checked 14 October 2026.
  5. Alberto Broggi - Engineering and Technology History Wiki ethw.org. Checked 14 October 2026.
  6. Chronological List of IAPR Fellows – International Association for Pattern Recognition iapr.org. Checked 14 October 2026.
  7. The 2017 IEEE VICS and Honors Ceremony. #IEEEVICsummit and #IEEEHonors Ceremony transmitter.ieee.org. Checked 14 October 2026.
  8. Executive Team | Ambarella ambarella.com. Checked 14 October 2026.