From now on, RICAIP belongs to the great Maker Faire family! From 18 to 20 October 2019, RICAIP was presented at the largest showcase of robotics in Rome for the first time. RICAIP’s booth was located next to prominent exhibitors acting in robotics and artificial intelligence, universities and research institutes. Thanks to curatorship of Professor Bruno Siciliano, professor of Robotics and Director of the ICAROS Centre at the University of Naples Federico II, and support of Institute of Robotics and Intelligent Machines (I-RIM), the 2019 Maker Faire Rome edition gave a special focus on robotics and AI to connect the world of research and academia with the world of business and industry.
Maker Faire is one of the largest shows of invention and ingenuity aimed at the general public, which also makes up the majority of visitors and exhibitors at the same time. Maker Faire creates an opportunity to meet people of all ages, interests and backgrounds to present what creative or innovative they are doing and share it with each other. Maker Faire has more than 220 trade fairs in 400 countries around the world, reaching over 1.4 million participants worldwide.
Maker Faire Rome is the major European offshoot, the largest after two major US fairs. It is organized by the public-owned InnovaCamera, the agency of the Roman Chamber of Commerce, supporting the development of innovation in the Italian capital.
Maker Faire Rome is specific in that it combines science, science fiction, technology, entertainment and business to create an environment where visitors can discuss directly with the inventors. Moreover, Maker Faire is increasingly coming alive with proposals oriented to the education and professional sectors. Companies and industries are expressing a lot of interest, since they see the skills offered by makers as opportunities for new business, invention and solutions. Also, there is growing participation of schools, universities and research institutes. This year was already the seventh and for great success over the past two years it moved to Rome’s main exhibition center to accommodate more than 600 exhibitors and more than 100,000 visitors.
The event focuses on the latest areas of science and technology, especially robotics, 3D printing, digital production, drones, etc. This exhibition also presents art, entertainment and various experiments with overlapping into the living nature. Maker Faire Rome is very focused on youth, pupils and students of elementary and secondary schools. It is estimated that more than 25,000 of them came in one day.
CIIRC CTU was kindly invited by organizers to present RICAIP at its own stand in the section focused on Robotics and Artificial Intelligence, in Hall 9 “Research”, where other research institutes, universities and projects also exhibited. Young people were particularly interested in the presentation, requesting also information about the possibility of internships at RICAIP or study programs in the Czech Republic.
RICAIP presentation at #MRF19 can be found HERE.