Automation makes us more innovative and creative. This is the RomeCup 2018 Challenge: Robotics and Life Sciences in the Innovation Ecosystem from April 16 to18 at the Rome Campus Bio-Medico University and Campidoglio. The RomeCup, a long-standing event promoted by the Fondazione Mondo Digitale, will provide an extraordinary immersive experience on the present and future of mankind in just three days: from a lectio magistralis to creative contests and strategic workouts. It’s an original vertical accelerator model that involves schools, universities, research centres, start-ups, SMEs and industrial districts. RomeCup will be inaugurated by the Mayor of Rome, Virginia Raggi.

The first humanoids that can operate under water, the performance of bionic athletes and sensible limb prostheses will be the focus of the lectio magistralis by Oussama Khatib, Robert Riener and Nitish V. Thakor, three world experts on robotics that will open RomeCup 2018 – Robotics and Life Sciences in the Innovation Ecosystem (April 16-18, Rome Campus Bio-Medico University and Campidoglio).

There will then be a round table on "Education and Work in the Automation Society" with M. Chiara Carrozza (Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna di Pisa), Eugenio Guglielmelli (Rome Campus Bio-Medico University), Sergio Iavicoli (INAIL), Alfonso Molina (Fondazione Mondo Digitale) and Rinaldo Sacchetti (Vigorso di Budrio Prostheses Centre).

The 12^th edition of RomeCup pursues the successful multi-event formula and introduces new formats such as creative contests for university and school-work programme students, interactive orientation talks and Mux, an original artistic research module on artificial intelligence and natural creativity. The “Knowledge Automation” Sector is increasingly strategic and the EU Commission estimates that by 2025 it will have a market impact value of 6.5-12 trillion euro.

The Rome Campus Bio-Medico University will host conferences, labs, and a showcase area with over 130 prototypes (developed by schools, too) and Robotics competitions, including the selection of the Italian teams that will participate in the Robocup Junior Competition in Canada. On the final day, the Rome Campidoglio will host the finals and awards ceremony.

For the first time, in collaboration with the Rome Campus Bio-Medico University, RomeCup will focus on Life Sciences, Robotics and Innovation, involving the entire bioscience sector, an excellency of the Lazio Region.  The >Strategy Digilife Workout, promoted with Lazio Innova (main partner), will involve SMEs and larger enterprises, innovative start-ups, spin-offs, universities, research centres, hospitals, and schools in an open innovation challenge to stimulate a creative and strategic exchange amongst the various players in the system and share resources to drive excellency.

The 12^thedition of the event has been organised in collaboration with TIM, Olivetti, Enea, MSD Italia, Unindustria, Masmec and INAIL, and Radio Rai 1 and Studenti  as media partners. The initiative has the patronage of the City of Rome, Regione Lazioand the American Embassy in Italy

Over 5000 visitors are expected. Participants include Sapienza University of Rome, Tor Vergata University of Rome, and the Bio-Robotics Institute of the Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna di Pisa. Moreover, RomeCup 2018 collaborates with projects “Make:Learn:Share:Europe” (Erasmus+), Mathisis (Horizon 2020) and Mix User Experience - MUX togetehr with the Palazzo delle Esposizioni.