Advancing Technology for Humanity: Most promising Researcher in Robotics & AI
PhD students Marta Lagomarsino (Milan Polytechnic and Italian Institute of Technology) received the Advancing Technology for Humanity. Most Promising Researcher in Robotics & AI Award presented by the Fondazione Mondo Digitale in collaboration with the Rome Campus Bio-Medico University (UCBM). The award was presented today at the Rome Campidoglio. Here is the full address by UCBM Rector Eugenio Guglielmelli:
The Rome Campus Bio-Medico University is very pleased, on 30th anniversary of its foundation, to have shared with the Fondazione Mondo Digitale for the sixteenth edition of RomeCup2023, which today will present awards to the best groups of students involved in the experience of these days, the presentation of a new prize for a young student, aged no older than 40 active, conducting research and innovation in the field of Robotics and Artificial Intelligence in Italian universities and research institutions.
It is significant that 135 researchers from all over Italy, active in 21 universities and in 6 research institutions, submitted proposals for this call. They presented projects on a wide range of topics, all very relevant to the issue of “Advancing Technology for Humanity” with the perspective of an E4-Sustainability: Ecological, Energetic, Economic and Ethical-social.
The applications were subject to accurate evaluation by a high-profile scientific committee chaired by prof. Paolo Dario, Professor Emeritus of Bio-robotics at the Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna di Pisa and Scientific Director of the ARTES4.0 Competence Centre and the ARTES5.0 European Digital Innovation Hub, all of which are highly focused on innovation in the field of robotics and artificial intelligence. I thank the prof. Dario, with whom we worked together with the other eight members of the Evaluation Committee, including the Scientific Director of the Fondazione Mondo Digitale Prof. Alfonso Molina and the President of the Italian Institute of Robotics and Intelligent Machines (I-RIM), for the excellent work done.
All the candidates presented high-level proposals, possess remarkable Curriculum Vitae, and best interpret the spirit of this year's award, with particular reference to the top projects in the ranking, focusing on topics such as advanced automation for waste disposal (Alberto Bacchin, University of Padua), plant bio-robotics for the development of plantoids (Isabella Fiorello, IIT), and the new robotic hand for advanced prosthetics for fine manipulation (Avinash Kumar Singh, Federico II University of Naples).
The winner, Marta Lagomarsino, currently a PhD student at the Milan Polytechnic University in collaboration with the Italian Institute of Technology, submitted the best project on bio-cooperative robotics (CoBots) to improve the quality and safety of working life, a theme of great strategic importance at both the national and international level, as recently recalled by Italian President Sergio Mattarella on Labour Day. In addition to an absolutely high-profile curriculum, which demonstrates how the candidate has cultivate all the characteristics that the award intends to recognize and reward, such as passion, dedication, perseverance, vision, creativity and talent, the research project presented by the candidate fully captures - and does so in a particularly original way - the spirit of the award. The project stands out for its innovative nature, scientific solidity, and in particular for the timeliness with which it tackles this great challenge: how to best manage collaboration between humans and robots in a scenario in which the coexistence between the natural and the artificial, also - but not only - in the manufacturing field, is becoming more and more relevant. In particular, the multidisciplinary nature of the project focused on the development of innovative control strategies and artificial intelligence algorithms based on a strong integration of skills in the field of cognitive sciences (psychology) to identify the most advanced solutions that enhance both the technology and the human in the best way possible in various working contexts.
Congratulations again to the winner, Marta, whom we will also invite to participate in the future edition of RomeCup2024 for a direct inductive contribution to students on the theme of her project, and to all the other candidates who will surely be able to make many relevant contributions to the development of research and innovation in our country, which we hope will increasingly have relevance as a good practice of excellence also at an international level and orient students in the most appropriate way to this wonderful initiative promoted by the Fondazione Mondo Digitale, which I sincerely thank for the precious work carried out for the promotion and organization of this event.
