ROMECUP 2019: THE CHALLENGE OF AUGMENTED – AND MORE INCLUSIVE – HUMANITY
Robotics, Artificial Intelligence and Life Sciences
On April 2 - 5, the Department of Engineering at the “Roma Tre” University and the Rome Campidoglio will host RomeCup, the long-standing event organised by the Fondazione Mondo Digitale. Four days of extraordinary immersive experience on the present and future of mankind will feature 25 national and international speakers, 148 student teams competing for the Italian Robotics Championship, 6 creative contests, 2 hackathons and 40 stands in the showcase area dedicated to research, enterprise, university and school.
From new generation bionic hands to exoskeletons for patients with spinal cord injuries and special sports prostheses, the challenge is to develop increasingly more connected and intelligent robots with advanced performance capabilities that are affordable and easy to use, inspired by the principles of inclusion, the sharing economy and crowdfunding. This will be the topic of a lecture by Paolo Dario, Professor of Bio-medical Robotics at the Scuola Superiore S. Anna di Pisa, who will inaugurate the 13th edition of RomeCup (April 2 – 5 at the Department of Engineering at the “Roma Tre” University and the Rome Campidoglio. Michelle Jillian Johnson from the University of Pennsylvania will introduce us to robotic devices that help individuals regain their independence in everyday activities.
New technology is used to improve the conditions of patients with disfunctions and/or disabilities, but they can also be used to enhance human abilities. Is there a boundary we should not step over? Paralympic champions Martina Caironi and Monica Contraffatto will participate in the talk on “Human Enhancement” with important personalities from the worlds of robotics and research. Maria Chiara Carrozza, Scientific Director of the Fondazione Don Gnocchi, will introduce the session dedicated to the experiences of four women of excellence in robotics.
How can we help young men and women to grasp the opportunities provided by Industry 4.0 and transforming winning ideas into enterprise? A debate with start-uppers, innovative entrepreneurs, Bruno Siciliano (“Federico II” University of Naples) and Alfonso Molina (Scientific Director of the Fondazione Mondo Digitale and Inventor of the Phyrtual Factory, the inclusive accelerator for youth).
Young men and women are also the protagonists of two hackathons: from the “Superconnected Robot” Challenge launched by Invitalia and the Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna di Pisa to the Life Sciences Coding Marathon promoted by the Regione Lazio, Lazio Innova and the Rome Campus Bio-Medico University: students, researchers and start-uppers will compete to identify solutions for human enhancement.
The showcase area will feature over 70 prototypes by 40 top-notch players in Italian robotics. Experts and researchers will meet with young men and women in 21 university orientation talks. Twenty-five schools will work with 9 universities on creating original robotic solutions in a variety of fields (assistance, agriculture, transport, etc.), while 600 students from 10 Italian Regions will compete in 9 robotic challenges from football soccer to rescue robots to gain a place at the World Robotics Championships that will be held in Australia in July 2019.
Sponsors of the 13th edition of RomeCup, promoted with the Patronage of the City of Rome, include the Regione Lazio, Lazio Innova, Invitalia, Italian Paralympic Committee, Inail, United States Embassy in Rome, Enea, Fondazione Lars Magnus Ericsson, Olivetti, Dell EMC, Ligra and Google. Our media partner is Radio Rai and Studenti.it.
