Fifty years ago he designed a braking system that helped reduce fatal car crashes. Now Mario Palazzetti has invented a device he hopes will curb the spread of Covid-19.
The retired Fiat Research Centre engineer is known as Mr ABS for the anti-lock braking system he created that is now standard in most motor vehicles.
At the age of 84, he has devised a gadget about the size of an electric kettle which creates local air currents that aim to stop the circulation of tiny droplets expelled when people speak - potentially hindering the spread of Covid-19 infections.
"We've called it the Biostopper and it is used to create an aerodynamic field so that all the breath someone emits when talking comes back to them," he explained.
Palazzetti started work on the device two months ago, hoping to address the difficulties of social distancing in schools, offices, bars and restaurants as the pandemic that has killed more than 576,000 people around the world took hold.
He is now working with a team at the Politecnico di Torino (University of Turin) to fine tune and test the product.
"I can't tell you so many technical details because we are still in the patenting phase," Professor Marco Simonetti of the Politecnico's energy department told Reuters.
"The concept is simple. The ambition is not to kill the virus, but to safely reduce the distance (between people)," he said.