3 min.
On November 28th, the Etnarobot 2011 event for Robotics was held at the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Catania Department of Electric, Electronic and Computer Engineering (DIEEI).
Universities, research, schools, enterprises, etc. can represent the future, especially in a period of crisis. “Start again with the young, from the workforce to research, quality and the strength to reconstruct,” this is the appeal made by Faculty President Luigi Fortuna, who opened the work session.
Alfonso Molina, Professor of Technology Strategy at the University of Edinburgh and Scientific Director of the Fondazione Mondo Digitale, underlined how looking at the future, being long-sighted is a key way of meeting the challenges and opportunities present in Italy. The multi-sectorial network for educational robotics, signed by many of those present at Etna Robot, has this as its objective.
Professor Giovanni Muscasto, the first promoter and organizer of this intense day, was among the signatories.
“The work on educational robotics promoted by the FMD is part of the wider European context. Robotics has strong roots of excellence in Italy. We have to bet on this market and optimize the system in order to avoid the existing fragmentation,” Molina explained.
The morning was taken up by the presentations of experts and researchers.
Engineer Alessandro Napoli, representing Arces, presented the Minirobot Competition that aims to bring students closer to Robotics, Electronics and Computer Systems through lessons, orientation courses and a final competition. “The world is increasingly moving towards automation. It is important to train one's mind and welcome these competences."
Audio interview with Alessandro Napoli
Robotics, however, is not only about automation and electronics, but also about synergies with humanities such as philosophy and cognitive science. This was the message provided by Prof. Antonio Chella and Prof. Rosario Sorb from the Department of Robotics, Faculty of Engineering, University of Palermo.
A demonstration of this is Robot body and mind, Cicerobot: a museum robot guide for tourists. What is a social robot? With the University of Tokyo, the Department is developing a “geminoid robot” with human semblances and a “telenoid”. Final objective? Not substituting mankind, his activities and traditions, but fully exploiting them.
Audio Interview with Chella and Sorbello
Giovanni De Luca, activity coordinator for Electronic Planning at the “Laboratori nazionali del SUD” National Nuclear Physics Institute (INFN), introduced the Aries and Morex robots that are capable of replacing humans in the field of nuclear physics. They are interactive control system that interact with the operator’s voice and recognize given objects visually.
Over 600 Sicilian students participated in the school laboratories by the INFN on the state of artificial intelligence (December 1-2). The Aries robot explained the sector secrets to the students.
Audio Interview with Giovanni De Luca
"For us Robotics is didactics, research and development, but also work and the industrial realities presented today demonstrate this. Many companies and Sicilian workshops use robots. They require competences and professional profiles that can programme and create these objects,” concludes Prof. Giovanni Muscato. “I tried to involve various actors to demonstrate how important these competences are for our area and with a minimum of stimulus they can be fundamental for the future.”
Audio conclusions: Giovanni Muscato and a brief final statement by Alfonso Molina.
