Robotic and artificial intelligence solutions. Third edition of the HealthBot contest
The third edition of the ‘HealthBot’ educational contest is underway, a project promoted in collaboration with Johnson & Johnson Innovative Medicine Italia in secondary schools throughout Italy to raise awareness among young people about the value of scientific advances for everyone's health, well-being and quality of life. This year, the contest is part of the new Il futuro della cura (The Future of Care) project.
Schools, also in collaboration with universities and research centres, are invited to design and prototype robotic and artificial intelligence solutions for health, which will be presented and shared at RomeCup 2026 (28-30 April, Sapienza University of Rome), an annual event dedicated to robotics and artificial intelligence in synergy with schools, research centres, universities, companies and institutions. The presentation format is inspired by the elevator pitch, for its effectiveness and brevity (maximum five minutes).
The challenge is open to individual students and teams and places no limits on the creativity of solutions developed using robotics, artificial intelligence, IoT or extended reality applications. These can be aids to improve quality of life, personal assistance, health monitoring, medication management, connection with medical staff or family, assisted mobility, etc.
The prototype can also be developed with universities, research centres, start-ups or other accredited institutions, independently initiating training collaborations. Schools participating in the contest must develop an original project. New developments and/or additions to previously launched projects are also permitted.
Projects and prototypes are evaluated by a jury of experts according to the following criteria: impact, low cost, effectiveness, originality and interdisciplinarity.
Schools interested in participating must submit their application by 31 December by completing the registration form.
The aim of the challenge is not competitive, but educational. It is inspired by Nelson Mandela's maxim: “I never lose, I either win or learn”. And this is also true in health and illness.
