Robot Valley Genova is the event that connects robotics and Artificial Intelligence with art and territory to represent the human being at the core of scientific progress. A future vision of the cities, in which science and technology will be crucial and more and more connected to people, culture and environment.
Robot Valley Genoa
Robotics, art and people
Genoa
19-20th April 2024
The event
Exhibition and Installation
romanticiROBOT
by Massimo Sirelli
8th April – Largo Pertini
Installazione Amici Robot
Installazione Amici Robot
19th April – 6:00 pm Villa Bombrini Genova
Inauguration of the exhibition romanticiROBOT
Massimo Sirelli (Catanzaro, 10/11/1981) is an Italian artist of national and international renown.
The exhibition romanticiROBOT offers an exhaustive overview of the artist’s production over the last few years, consisting of 20 toy-robots, made of entirely recyclable recycled metal materials and objects conceived in close relation to Amici Robot, the installation set up in Largo Petrini.
Massimo Sirelli’s sculptures are characterised by a remarkable poetic inspiration. In his hands, robots are transformed into playmates, tender living machines endowed with a sensitive soul. The recycled materials he uses compose extraordinary assemblages in which imagination and intellect are harmoniously combined. Old cameras, cans, milk, typewriter keyboards, biscuit tins come to life in the new robotic body that alludes to a friendly, playful, inoffensive technology.
Photo: Courtesy Archivio Sirelli
Program
19th April
Location: Villa Bombrini – Via Muratori, 5 Genova Cornigliano
Registration is required to participate in the talks. We recommend arriving 30 minutes before the start of the conferences.
11:00 am
Robotics, Art and People
Robot Valley Genova, the RAISE project event
Institutional greetings: Marco Bucci, Mayor of Genova – Jessica Nicolini, Coordinator of Cultural Policies of Regione Liguria
Speakers: Maurizio Gregorini (Comune di Genova, Art Director), Andrea Pagnin (IIT, Technological Transfer Coordinator of RAISE Spoke 5), Davide Falteri (Comune di Genova, Counselor), Maria Nives Riggio (FILSE Vice Director), Fulvio Mastrogiovanni (UniGe, Scienfic Director), Cristina Battaglia (Programme Manager RAISE) con la partecipazione di Michela Spagnuolo (CNR, Spoke 1 Coordinator), Lorenzo De Michieli (IIT, Spoke 2 Coordinator), Marco Faimali (CNR, Spoke 3 Coordinator), Giovanni Indiveri (UniGe, Project Leader RAISE Spoke 4).
02:00 pm
Talk
L’uomo e i robot
Speakers: Kristen Kozielski (TUM), Arash Ajoudani (IIT), Lorenzo Natale (IIT), Maura Casadio (UniGe), Monica Gori (IIT)
This series of talks aims to explore the relationship between the human being and the artificial being, the robot. The interventions address various dimensions of this relationship, with particular reference to physical and cognitive interactions. Potential modes of communication, and scenarios in which humans and robots interact, collaborate, and learn from each other are explored.
04:30 pm
Talk
Ecorobotica: tecnologie innovative al servizio dell’ambiente
Speakers: Marco Faimali (Moderator- CNR),
Maria Chiara Carrozza (CNR), Antonio Bicchi (IIT), Nicola Pio Belfiore (UniRoma 3), Simonetta Fraschetti (Università di Napoli Federico II), Paolo Povero (UniGe)
When the potential of robotics and artificial intelligence meet the operational needs for studying and monitoring the three major environmental scenarios (air, water and land), ‘ecorobotics’ is born, a new discipline of collaborative robotics at the service of the environment that aims to introduce a new paradigm of robotics that places environmental data at the centre.
A meeting between experienced ecologists and roboticists, who imagine and narrate the role of this new discipline that will have to technologically innovate the methods for studying, monitoring and protecting the place we live in: our planet.
06:00 pm
romanticiROBOT
romanticIROBOT – Opening of Maurizio Sirelli’s exhibition
Interview with the artist by Maurizio Gregorini
The most sensitive of contemporary artists are today confronted with the countless technologies that are revolutionising our existence: biotechnology, genetics, digital worlds, artificial intelligence, robotics.
In doing so, the artists explore the positive aspects and at the same time highlight the critical aspects of using the new means made available by science. The present, thanks to art, becomes future and the future enters powerfully into the present, sealed by unpredictable aesthetics. Genetic art invents marvellous new living works, virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR) and interactive sculptures allow the user to participate in the creation of the work, immersive scenarios give rise to never-before lived experiences, artificial intelligence (AI) overturns all the conceptions we had regarding the production of artwork, from painting to photography, from writing to music. When applied to robotics, AI pursues the concrete dream of the thinking robot, destined to flank the human being and serve him. Robotics has consequently entered the sights of numerous artists, who explore its playful and friendly aspects (such as the artist participating in Robot valley, Massimo Sirelli), its aesthetic aspects (such as the painter Donato Piccolo), its threatening aspects (such as the Korean Youngchul Lee). Or they illustrate the path of physical integration between man and machine (like Stelarc and Giger). We, who are protagonists of this revolutionary time, cannot fail to focus our attention on the works of these experimental artists, whose works encapsulate the portrait of what we are becoming and help us understand the immediate future of humanity.
20th April
Location: Villa Bombrini – Via Muratori, 5 Genova Cornigliano
Registration is required to participate in the talks. We recommend arriving 30 minutes before the start of the conferences.
10:30 am
Talk
I robot e l’intelligenza (artificiale)
Speakers: Ruediger Dillmann (KIT/FZI), Marcelo H. Ang (NUS), Giorgio Cannata (UniGe), Alessandra Sciutti (IIT), Giovanni Berselli (UniGe)
This session explores the relationship between the artificial being, the robot, as an entity emerging from the interaction between ‘mind’ and ‘body’. It will highlight how this classical subdivision can and must be challenged if the true meaning of intelligent behaviour is to be understood. The various talks will discuss various dimensions and facets of this complex relationship.
03:00 pm
Talk
Città, persone e robot
Speakers: Maurizio Gregorini (Moderator – Comune di Genova, Dir. Artistico)
Andrea Pagnin (IIT), Guido Conforti (Confindustria, DIH), Fulvio Mastrogiovanni (UniGe), Berta Paramo (writer)
19 - 20 Aprile
Location: Villa Bombrini – Via Muratori, 5 Genova Cornigliano
Coordination of teaching activities: Association Festival della Scienza
If you would like to bring your class, please contact scuole@festivalscienza.it
To participate individually, please write to info@festivalscienza.it
NB: The morning workshops on Friday 19 April are reserved for schools.
10:00 am – 11:30 am – 02:00 pm – 03:30 pm
MEET AI – Your First Steps into Artificial Intelligence
By: University of Genoa – Department of Computer Science, Bioengineering, Robotics, and Systems Engineering – Department of Mathematics in collaboration with MaLGa – Machine Learning Genoa Center
Recommended Age: 11+
Artificial intelligence has been the undisputed protagonist of the technological revolution in recent years, but how much do we really know about it?
While it has become part of our daily lives, for most of us, it remains a mysterious black box, challenging to understand how it works. Moreover, this black box has an energy footprint that we can no longer ignore, which is the other side of this technological revolution: the greater the wonders it can perform, the greater the costs, including environmental ones, to sustain them! Let’s embark on a journey to discover the science behind it all. From machine learning to mathematics, from optimization to computer vision, you can expect a step-by-step exploration to better understand how machines think and their impact on our lives and the environment.
10:00 am – 11:30 am – 02:00 pm – 03:30 pm
Non si vede solo con gli occhi – New Ways of Seeing, with All Our Senses
By: Italian Institute of Technology
Recommended Age: 6 -10
In our lives, our eyes allow us to do many things: play, read, watch a beautiful sunset, or the smile of someone we love. But in the world, there are many people who cannot rely on sight: they are blind or visually impaired, and this workshop allows us to put ourselves in their shoes to understand how they use other senses to do everyday things, just like us, and how technology can come to their aid. We will engage in four activities, in four different rooms, each dedicated to one of the other senses: hearing, touch, smell, proprioception. We will overcome obstacles with blindfolds, following sound cues, recognize objects only by touching them with our hands, recreate an image from the smells we perceive, and learn to recognize parts of our body without seeing them. There are no limits to what we can do if we find accessibility tools and strategies around us.
10:00 am – 11:30 am – 02:00 pm – 03:30 pm
Polar Robots – Discovering Planet Earth with Robotics
By: CNR – Institute of Marine Engineering
Recommended age: 8+
Robotics can help us perform tasks in dangerous or inaccessible environments and allow us to collect scientific data in these places, which we can use to study the changes that global warming is causing on our planet. In this highly interactive laboratory, you can literally get hands-on with three autonomous marine robotic vehicles designed to operate in extreme environments. Shark, SWAMP, and PROTEUS have been successfully used to collect scientific data as part of research projects and international campaigns in the Arctic and Antarctica. In addition to admiring them live and, thanks to spectacular footage, seeing them in action among the ice, you can also drive a fully functional mini marine robotic vehicle, equipped with sensors and actuators, placed inside a tank full of water. But don’t worry: the simulation will be realistic, but not in terms of extreme temperatures!
10:00 am – 11:30 am – 02:00 pm – 03:30 pm
Robot Zoo – Learn to Count with mTiny Panda and Bluebot Bee
By: Robotics School
Recommended age: 6-10
The laboratory with the panda-shaped robot mTiny and the bee robot Bluebot represents an educational experience for elementary school students, designed to combine the learning of mathematical skills with robotics in an engaging way. Students will have the opportunity to acquire basic skills such as counting and mathematical operations through practical and playful activities. By harnessing the programming features of mTiny and Bluebot, children will explore fundamental mathematical concepts in a fun and interactive context. The panda-shaped robot can be programmed to visually represent mathematical operations such as addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division, making learning more tangible and stimulating. While with Bluebot, they can work not only on mathematical disciplines but also on memory and teamwork. The laboratory extends beyond the mathematical domain, offering opportunities to explore other disciplines. Students can program mTiny to interact with scientific, linguistic, and logical concepts. For example, they could create a linguistic path where the panda represents words in different languages, thus promoting playful and engaging language learning. The multilingual aspect of the laboratory allows students to explore languages other than their mother tongue, enriching their cultural background. mTiny thus becomes a versatile tool for learning new concepts, stimulating students’ curiosity and creativity. The laboratory with mTiny and Blue Bot is designed to develop cross-cutting skills such as problem-solving, collaboration, and critical thinking. Moreover, it offers students the opportunity to improve their programming skills, preparing them for future challenges in the field of technology.
By: Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia and University of Genoa.
The researchers who designed the robots will be available to demonstrate their functionality and to explain to visitors the applications, objectives, and future developments that the teams are pursuing.
Access to the robotic demos does not require reservation.
The RICE (Robots and Intelligent Systems for Citizens and the Environment) laboratory at the University of Genoa aims to develop intelligent robotic solutions aligned with society's needs. Its aim is not only to create new technologies focused on humans and their needs, but also to disseminate the findings of researchers exploring these aspects. RICE focuses on two main areas of research: the development of 'intelligent' humanoid social robots to assist and help people, and the improvement of autonomous robots on wheels, quadrupeds and aircraft for environmental monitoring and search and rescue operations after catastrophic events. In the knowledge that RICE, rice, despite its humble nature, is the main food for humans on Earth.
By University of Genoa
The interaction and collaboration between man and machine are at the heart of important scientific, technological, ethical and moral issues. The forms and aspects this relationship will take have the potential to change society in unexpected ways. In this installation, TheEngineRoom group of the University of Genoa demonstrates some of the potential of the interactive and collaborative aspects, also showing how mature technologies (wearable sensors, virtual reality), together with the capabilities enabled by cognitive technologies and Artificial Intelligence can be functional to the relationship between man and machine.
By University of Genoa
Bio-inspired robots and ecorobots are devices developed by taking inspiration from living beings in order to better adapt to dynamic scenarios and to be integrated in an environmentally sustainable way. Examples are the octopus-inspired soft robotic arm, developed to adapt and grasp objects of different shapes, and robotic seeds, devices that disperse similarly to natural ones, made of biodegradable materials, for environmental monitoring and reforestation.
By Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia – IIT
AlterEgo is a humanoid robot that can be controlled remotely by an operator.The latter, using intuitive control devices, can see through the robot’s eyes and operate its body and polyarticulated hands. The robot effectively acts as an alter ego, allowing the operator to interact with the environment and people around him. AlterEgo was created to provide remote assistance in situations such as exploring areas dangerous to humans or to bring an expert’s knowledge to distant environments.
By Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia – IIT
New Artificial Intelligence technologies are revolutionising the field of prosthetics, enabling a smoother collaboration between human and machine. Thanks to these advances, prosthetic hands, such as Hannes, can be controlled in a simplified way, allowing users to grasp objects with minimal effort and improving their quality of life.
By Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia – IIT
Speakers
Kristen Kozielski completed her PhD in Biomedical Engineering at Johns Hopkins University, and her postdoctoral research at the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems. She moved to the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology in 2019 as a group leader. She has been at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) since 2021, where she is an Assistant Professor of Neuroengineering Materials in the School of Computation, Information, and Technology. At TUM, she is also the Program Co-Director of the Elite Master’s Program in Neuroengineering.
Arash Ajoudani is the director of the Human-Robot Interfaces and Interaction (HRI²) laboratory at IIT. He also coordinates the Robotics for Manufacturing (R4M) lab of the Leonardo labs, and is a principal investigator of the IIT-Intellimech JOiiNT lab. He is a recipient of the European Research Council (ERC) proof-of-concept grant 2023 Real-Move and the ERC starting grant 2019 (Ergo-Lean), the coordinator of the Horizon-2020 project SOPHIA, the co-coordinator of the Horizon-2020 project CONCERT, and a principal investigator of the HORIZON-MSCA project RAICAM, and the national projects LABORIUS, COROMAN, and ReFinger. He is a recipient of the IEEE Robotics and Automation Society (RAS) Early Career Award 2021, and winner of the SmartCup Liguria award 2023, Amazon Research Awards 2019, of the Solution Award 2019 (MECSPE2019), of the KUKA Innovation Award 2018, of the WeRob best poster award 2018, and of the best student paper award at ROBIO 2013. His PhD thesis was a finalist for the Georges Giralt PhD award 2015 - best European PhD thesis in robotics. He was also a finalist for the best paper award on mobile manipulation at IROS 2022, the best paper award at Humanoids 2022 (oral category), the Solution Award 2020 (MECSPE2020), the best conference paper award at Humanoids 2018, the best interactive paper award at Humanoids 2016, the best oral presentation award at Automatica (SIDRA) 2014, and for the best manipulation paper award at ICRA 2012. He is the author of the book "Transferring Human Impedance Regulation Skills to Robots" in the Springer Tracts in Advanced Robotics (STAR), and several publications in journals, international conferences, and book chapters. He is currently serving as an elected IEEE RAS AdCom member (2022-2024), and as chair and representative of the IEEE-RAS Young Professionals Committee, and as a Senior Editor of the International Journal of Robotics Research (IJRR). He has been serving as a member of scientific advisory committee and as an associate editor for several international journals and conferences such as IEEE RAL, ICRA, IROS, ICORR, etc. He is a scholar of the European Lab for Learning and Intelligent Systems (ELLIS). His main research interests are in physical human-robot interaction, mobile manipulation, robust and adaptive control, assistive robotics, and tele-robotics.
Lorenzo Natale is Tenured Senior Researcher at the Italian Institute of Technology and Coordinator of the Center for Robotics and Intelligent Systems. He received MS and PhD in Robotics from the University of Genoa and was later on postdoctoral researcher at the MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory. Lorenzo Natale was one of the main contributors to the design and development of the iCub platform and its software architecture. His research interests range from vision and tactile sensing to software architectures for robotics. He is Ellis Fellow and Core Faculty of the Ellis Genoa Unit.
Maura Casadio is Associate Professor of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Genoa, Genoa, Italy and adjunct professor at Marquette University, Milwaukee, USA. She received the M.S. degree in electronic engineering in 2002 from the University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy, the M.S. degree in bioengineering, in 2007 and the Ph.D. degree in robotics and bioengineering, in 2006, both from the University of Genoa. She worked as postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Physiology, Northwestern University and the Robotics Laboratory, Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago (now Shirley Ryan ability Lab), Chicago, IL, from 2008 to 2011. Her main areas of interest are neural control of movement and forces, rehabilitation, robotics, sensory processing, artificial and augmented sensing (proprioception/ somatosensation) and body–machine interfaces.
Monica Gori is the Principal Investigator of the Unit for Visually Impaired People (U-VIP) of the Italian Institute of Technology (IIT). Her lab comprises 22 researchers (half cognitive neuroscientists and half engineers). Monica Gori is an experimental psychologist with a Ph.D. in Humanoid Technologies. She studied art at the high school and made multiple national and international art exibithion. She is an expert on development, multisensory integration, multisensory technology, rehabilitation, learning and visual disability. The impact of her work on the scientific community can be summarized by 200 international papers, 5 book chapters, and many conference abstracts. Internationally accepted indices of impact and productivity show that her work has received 5500 citations, leading her to an H-index of 34 (ORCID ID orcid.org/0000-0002-5616-865X; Scopus Research ID: 23491803400; ResearcherID: A-1238-2014). She was the scientific coordinator of two large European grants, ABBI (~€2 million) and WeDraw (~€2.5 million). One of her works has been listed in the faculty of 1000 (Gori et al. Curr Biol, 2008). In 2012, she won the TR35 price for young innovators. In 2020 Monica won an ERC STG with the MYSpace project (~€1.5 million-started in 2021) and is supervisor in 4 Marie Curie Projects. In 2022 she won the ERC PoC iReach and participated in preparing the PNRR Raise project (~€120 million) in which she is Spoke co-coordinator.
Marco Faimali is currently Director of the Institute for Anthropogenic Impacts and Sustainability in Marine Environment (IAS-CNR), president of the Genoa Research Area of CNR, and professor of Marine Ecotoxicology at the University of Genoa. Marco Faimali has been involved in applied research for over 25 years in the study of anthropogenic impacts in the marine environment. His main objective of investigation was the characterization of the interaction between materials/technologies/human activities and the marine environment. He is responsible for national and international projects, research contracts with SMEs and multinationals and has published over 130 peer-reviewed scientific papers. He has always been involved in various institutional consultancy activities for the Ministry of the Environment (MATE) on issues related to environmental management in the marine-maritime sector. He has been responsible for several activities of dissemination of research results, both at regional and national level. The activities have also been presented at events and facilities of national importance such as the Science Festival, Focus Live, the Genoa Boat Show and the Genoa Aquarium and has participated in several television programs on national networks. Marco Faimali currently also holds the role of Spoke 3 Coordinator – Sustainable environmental caring and protection technologies – of the RAISE (Robotics and AI for Socio-economic Empowerment) Innovation Ecosystem, carried out as part of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan, Mission 4, funded by the European Union – NextGenerationEU. Specifically, Spoke 3 is dedicated to the important challenge of applying robotics and artificial intelligence to study, monitor and preserve the natural capital of our territory.
Maria Chiara Carrozza, graduated in Physics at the University of Pisa, holds a PhD in Engineering from Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna, Pisa. Since 2021 she has been President of the National Research Council and in 2023 she is Chair of ESAF - European Science Advisors Forum, the organization that brings together national scientific advisors appointed by the Governments of the European Union. She is Full Professor of Industrial Bioengineering at the Institute of Biorobotics of the Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna, of which she was Rector from 2007 to 2013. She was Minister of Education, University and Research from 2013 to 2014 and Scientific Director of the IRCCS Don Carlo Gnocchi Foundation. She has held various positions for the European Commission as Chair of Experts Groups. Furthermore, she is a founding member of IUVO Srl, a start-up for wearable robotics. She is a member of the IEEE Robotics and Automation and EMB Societies and a fellow of EAMBES, the European Alliance for Biomedical Engineering; she was also President of the National Bioengineering Group. Recently, she was elected Chair of the European Science Advisors Forum (ESAF). Additionally, Maria Chiara Carrozza has been appointed a member of the Coordination Committee for updating Italian strategies on the use of artificial intelligence. Her research interests include neurorobotics, bionics, biorobotics, rehabilitation bioengineering, robotic exoskeletons, prosthetics, microengineering, and sensors for biorobotics.
As of 2023, her scientific contributions include approximately 14 thousand citations, 297 publications, an H-index of 61 (Scopus), and 30 patents (Espacenet).
As of 2023, her scientific contributions include approximately 14 thousand citations, 297 publications, an H-index of 61 (Scopus), and 30 patents (Espacenet).
Fulvio Mastrogiovanni is an Associate Professor at the University of Genoa (UniGe), Italy, and a Researcher affiliated with the Italian Institute of Technology. He got a Laurea Degree and a Ph.D. from UniGe in 2003 and 2008, respectively. Fulvio is a member of the Board of the Ph.D. School in Bioengineering and Robotics, as well as the National Ph.D. School in Robotics. He is co-PI in the joint lab between UniGe and WeBuild SpA on topics related to robotics for construction. Fulvio was Visiting Professor at institutions in America, Europe, and Asia. He served as Head of Program for the international MSc in Robotics Engineering (part of the Erasmus+ EMARO and JEMARO programs) at UniGe, and Deputy Rector for International Affairs. Fulvio organized many international scientific events (RO-MAN, IROS, ERF conference series), and journal special issues, and will serve as General Chair of IAS 2025. Fulvio teaches courses in cognitive architectures, human-robot interaction, and artificial intelligence for robotics. Fulvio participated in many national and international funded projects and cooperates with research centers worldwide. He is the founder of Teseo and IOSR, two spinoff companies from UniGe, and he is advisor of established companies and startups on artificial intelligence solutions. Fulvio received awards for his scientific and technology transfer activities, including the Italian Young Innovator Award in 2021. Fulvio published more than 190 contributions, including 5 international patents.
Nicola P. Belfiore, Professor, IEEE Member, teaches Applied Mechanics, Functional Design and Underwater Robotics at the University of Roma Tre, Italy. After the achievement of the Ph.D. degree, completed at Sapienza University of Rome, in cooperation with the University of Maryland of College Park, he was with Sapienza University from 1996 to 2000 as research fellow, and from 2001 to 2017 as Associate Professor. In October 2017 he moved from Sapienza to Roma Tre University, where he got the position of Full Professor in 2019.
In 1993 he won the AMR Best Paper Award at the Third National Applied Mechanisms and Robotics Conference (Cincinnati, OH) and in 1997 he also won the AMR Unique Contribution Award at the same Conference. In 2009 he won the Best Research Paper Award at the 18th Int. Workshop on Robotics in Alpe-Adria-Danube Region in Brasov, Romania. Since 2008 he is also a Honorary Professor of the Obuda University, Hungary. Author of three textbooks, four patents and about one hundred scientific papers he has been the coordinators of several scientific projects, both National and European. In 2013 he was the director of the 2nd Level Vocational Master in Energy Conversion Efficiency and Renewable Energy. From 2019 to 2022 he was nominated Head of the Degree Programs of Mechanical Engineering BSc and MSc in Mechanical Engineering, MSc in Aeronautical Engineering and BSc and MSc in Marine and Ocean Engineering, while in 2022 he was appointed as Deputy Director coordinator of the teaching activities of the Department of Industrial, Electronic and Mechanical Engineering. Since 2019 he is associate member, with Cooperation Assignment to the Italian IAS-CNR, Institute for the Development if Anthropic Impacts and Sustainability in Marine Environment. His actual interests are Topology, Kinematics and Dynamics of Mechanisms and Robots, MEMS and NEMS Design, Functional Design, and Tribology.
In 1993 he won the AMR Best Paper Award at the Third National Applied Mechanisms and Robotics Conference (Cincinnati, OH) and in 1997 he also won the AMR Unique Contribution Award at the same Conference. In 2009 he won the Best Research Paper Award at the 18th Int. Workshop on Robotics in Alpe-Adria-Danube Region in Brasov, Romania. Since 2008 he is also a Honorary Professor of the Obuda University, Hungary. Author of three textbooks, four patents and about one hundred scientific papers he has been the coordinators of several scientific projects, both National and European. In 2013 he was the director of the 2nd Level Vocational Master in Energy Conversion Efficiency and Renewable Energy. From 2019 to 2022 he was nominated Head of the Degree Programs of Mechanical Engineering BSc and MSc in Mechanical Engineering, MSc in Aeronautical Engineering and BSc and MSc in Marine and Ocean Engineering, while in 2022 he was appointed as Deputy Director coordinator of the teaching activities of the Department of Industrial, Electronic and Mechanical Engineering. Since 2019 he is associate member, with Cooperation Assignment to the Italian IAS-CNR, Institute for the Development if Anthropic Impacts and Sustainability in Marine Environment. His actual interests are Topology, Kinematics and Dynamics of Mechanisms and Robots, MEMS and NEMS Design, Functional Design, and Tribology.
Prof. Dillmann received his PhD from the University of Karlsruhe in 1980. Since 1987 he has been a Professor at the Department of Computer Science and Director of the Humanoids and Intelligence Systems Lab. at KIT. 2002 he became director of the innovation lab. IDS (interactive diagnosis systems) at the Research Center for Information Science (FZI), Karlsruhe. 2009 he founded the Institute of Anthropomatics and Robotics at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology. His research interest is in the areas of human-robot interaction, and neurorobotics with special emphasis on intelligent, autonomous and interactive robot behaviour generated with the help of machine learning methods and programming by demonstration (PbD). Other research interests include machine vision for mobile systems, man-machine cooperation, computer-supported intervention in surgery and related simulation techniques. He is the author/co-author of more than 1000 scientific publications, conference papers, several books and book contributions. He was the Coordinator of the German Collaborative Research Center ”Humanoid Robots” and several large-scale European IPs. He is Editor in Chief of the book series COSMOS, Springer. Since 2018 he is Professor emeritus. He is now the research director at FZI and is consulting start-up companies and SMEs of his former PhD students. He is IEEE- and IROS Fellow.
Marcelo H. Ang, Jr. received his BSc and MSc degrees in Mechanical Engineering from the De La Salle University in the Philippines and University of Hawaii, USA in 1981 and 1985, respectively, and his PhD in Electrical Engineering from the University of Rochester, New York in 1988 where he was an Assistant Professor of Electrical Engineering. In 1989, he joined the Department of Mechanical Engineering of the National University of Singapore where he is currently Professor and Director of the Advanced Robotics Center. His research interests span the areas of robotics, mechatronics, autonomous systems, and applications of intelligent systems. He teaches robotics; creativity and innovation; applied electronics and instrumentation; computing; design and related topics. In addition to academic and research activities. He is also actively involved in the Singapore Robotic Games as its founding chairman, and the World Robot Olympiad as member of its Advisory Council. Some videos of his research can be found in: http://137.132.146.218/marcelo/videos/
Giorgio Cannata received the Master Degree in Electronic Engineering from the University of Genova in 1988 and is currently Full Professor of Robot Dynamics and Control and Automatic Control.
His research interests are in the areas of robotics, mechatronics and automatic control. In particular, over the years he has worked on the development of underwater manipulators, bioinspired robotics systems, and robot tactile systems and processing technologies for robot control and safe human-robot interaction.
Giorgio Cannata has been Coordinator of the European Project ICT FP7 – Roboskin, on the development of skin-based technologies and capabilities for safe autonomous and interactive robots, and is currently Coordinator of the European Project HE – Sestosenso, on the development of innovative solutions for the control of robots and human-robot interaction using augmented proximity and tactile spatial perception.
Giorgio Cannata is the Coordinator of the Italian Doctorate Program in Robotics and Intelligent Machines.
His research interests are in the areas of robotics, mechatronics and automatic control. In particular, over the years he has worked on the development of underwater manipulators, bioinspired robotics systems, and robot tactile systems and processing technologies for robot control and safe human-robot interaction.
Giorgio Cannata has been Coordinator of the European Project ICT FP7 – Roboskin, on the development of skin-based technologies and capabilities for safe autonomous and interactive robots, and is currently Coordinator of the European Project HE – Sestosenso, on the development of innovative solutions for the control of robots and human-robot interaction using augmented proximity and tactile spatial perception.
Giorgio Cannata is the Coordinator of the Italian Doctorate Program in Robotics and Intelligent Machines.
Alessandra Sciutti is Tenure Track Researcher, head of the CONTACT (COgNiTive Architecture for Collaborative Technologies) Unit of the Italian Institute of Technology (IIT). She received her B.S and M.S. degrees in Bioengineering and the Ph.D. in Humanoid Technologies from the University of Genova in 2010. After two research periods in USA and Japan, in 2018 she has been awarded the ERC Starting Grant wHiSPER (www.whisperproject.eu), focused on the investigation of joint perception between humans and robots. She published more than 100 papers and abstracts in international journals and conferences and participated in the coordination of the CODEFROR European IRSES project (https://www.codefror.eu/). She is currently Associate Editor for several journals, among which the International Journal of Social Robotics, the IEEE Transactions on Cognitive and Developmental Systems and Cognitive System Research. She is an ELLIS Scholar and the corresponding co-chair of the IEEE RAS Technical Committee for Cognitive Robotics. The scientific aim of her research is to investigate the sensory and motor mechanisms underlying mutual understanding in human-human and human-robot interaction. For more details on her research, as well as the full list of publications please check the Contact Unit website or her Google Scholar profile.
Giovanni Berselli is Full Professor and Chair of Design Methods for Industrial Engineering at the University of Genova & Affiliated Researcher with the Advanced Robotics Department at the Italian Institute of Technology (IIT). Within his Department, Prof. Berselli is the Coordinator of the PhD Degree in Mechanical, Energy and Management Engineering, the Referent for the Industry 4.0 Curriculum for the National Doctorate in Robotics and Intelligent Machines, the Delegate for International Relations & the Erasmus program coordinator. Prof. Berselli is a Fellow of the ASME (American Society of Mechanical Engineers), Chair of ASME Italy Section, &. past Chair of the ASME Technical Committee on Modeling, Dynamics, and Control of Adaptive Systems. He has been Visiting & Affiliated Scientist at Harvard Medical School & Massachusetts General Hospital, at the German Aerospace Agency (DLR), at the University of Twente, at Monash University and with the School of Advanced Studies of the University of Navarra. He is currently Senior Editor for IEEE/ASME Transactions on Mechatronics, Section Editor-in-Chief for the journal Machines, Associate Editor for International Journal of Interactive Design & Manufacturing. He has authored more than 200 publications in peer-reviewed international journals or conference proceedings and edited two international books. Recipient of several ASME, IEEE and IFToMM Best Paper Awards, he is Scientific Advisor for the spin-off company Adaptronics S.r.l. and Technical Advisor for the company PHM Technology. Prof. Berselli's scientific activity is focused on the design and experimental evaluation of: i) robot hands & grippers; ii) compliant/soft mechanisms and actuators for safe human-robot interaction; iii) energy-aware industrial robotics.
Andrea Pagnin is Head of the Innovation and Development Office of the Italian Institute of Technology within the Technology Transfer Department. It deals with innovative projects that can have a strategic and macroeconomic value for the achievement of the Institute's technology and knowledge transfer. He has an entrepreneurial background and has created two start-ups. He also has deep experience in developing innovation positioning strategies in the market. At IIT he previously worked in the intelligent humanoid robot research and development team at the Center for Robotics and Intelligent Systems, where he gained significant experience in analyzing the development of complex systems. He has a research background in the field of land economics and spatial development logics. Andrea Pagnin currently holds the role of Spoke 5 (Tech Transfer & Development) Coordinator within the RAISE (Robotics and AI for Socio-economic Empowerment) Innovation Ecosystem, implemented as part of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan, Mission 4, funded by the European Union – NextGenerationEU.
General Manager of Confindustria Genoa and Confindustria Liguria, he has closely followed the social, economic, and urban transformations of the territory over the past 40 years.
He was Senior Manager of Economic Development for the Municipality of Genoa, appointed by Mayor Marco Bucci, to promote the city's development as the "Capital of the Mediterranean."
As Director of the Digital Innovation Hub Liguria since its inception, he is involved in the dynamics of technological innovation in the region.
He is also a writer, author of texts for the theater, performer, and videomaker. He has published the novel "Genoa, a visible city" and the film "My little apple" about the city of Genoa.
He was Senior Manager of Economic Development for the Municipality of Genoa, appointed by Mayor Marco Bucci, to promote the city's development as the "Capital of the Mediterranean."
As Director of the Digital Innovation Hub Liguria since its inception, he is involved in the dynamics of technological innovation in the region.
He is also a writer, author of texts for the theater, performer, and videomaker. He has published the novel "Genoa, a visible city" and the film "My little apple" about the city of Genoa.
Full Professor of Ecology at the University of Naples Federico II, member of the Board of Directors of the Anton Dohrn Zoological Station in Naples, President of the European Symposium on Marine Biology, National Co-coordinator of Node 1 of the National Biodiversity Future Centre - NBFC. She combines descriptive field research, manipulative experiments, and spatial analysis techniques to better understand the distribution pattern of marine biodiversity and the processes influencing marine communities. As President of the Working Group on Mapping Marine Habitats of the European Marine Board, she is responsible for or directly involved in several national/international projects aimed at defining criteria and priorities to guide better integration of conservation and restoration of marine-coastal systems within a framework of maritime spatial planning to promote sustainability through science-based spatial management of human uses (MarinePlan, AMAre-AMArePLUS, Coconet). Quantifying biodiversity changes under the effects of multiple stressors and studying the potential of active restoration to support the recovery of disturbed assemblages are also at the core of her research (ClimaRest, Life-Dreams, ActNow, Forescue, Afrimed, MERCES).
MIchela Spagnuolo is Research Director and Director of the Institute of Applied Mathematics and Information Technology "E. Magenes" (IMATI). Her scientific activity focuses on the study and development of geometric and topological methods for the representation, comparison and characterization of surfaces and volumes. She is the author of more than 160 peer-reviewed scientific publications, a book on mathematical methods for shape analysis, and has edited several special issues and books on the topics of shape analysis and modelling. She is currently associate editor of international journals and has chaired several conferences, including Eurographics 2019 and Shape Modelling International. In 2014 she was elected Fellow of EUROGRAPHICS and currently holds the position of Vice-President of the same association. Michela Spagnuolo currently holds the role of Spoke 1 Coordinator – Urban technologies for inclusive engagement – within the RAISE (Robotics and AI for Socio-economic Empowerment) Innovation Ecosystem, created as part of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan, Mission 4, funded by the European Union – NextGenerationEU.
Cristina Battaglia, with a degree in Physics, is Programme Manager of the RAISE (Robotics and AI for Socioeconomic Empowerment) Innovation Ecosystem selected and funded by the Ministry of University and Research as part of Mission 4 of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan. She was head of the Research Enhancement Office of the National Research Council and coordinator of the technical-scientific secretariat of the President of the CNR. She held the role of Executive Manager of the START4.0 Competence Center funded by the Ministry for Economic Development (now MIMIT) to support the digital transition of companies. From 2011 to 2016 she was Director of the Research, Innovation and Energy Sector of the Liguria Region. Previously, she held the position of President and Sole Director of BIC Liguria. She has been a member of the Board of Directors of the RIMED Foundation and of Elettra-Sincrotrone Trieste and has been Vice President of ENEA. She has been a member of the Board of Directors of the Italian Association of Industrial Research and of the NETVAL Association (Network for the Enhancement of Research). For over 20 years she has been involved in technology transfer and research, development and innovation management, during which she has managed and coordinated numerous national and European projects. She has also been a member of numerous commissions for the evaluation of projects in the field of research and innovation.
Professor at the Genoese University in Biological Oceanography and Marine Environmental Monitoring, he has participated and continues to participate in the Faculty Council of the PhD in Polar Sciences and the PhD in Marine Sciences. His research activities focus on basic and applied Ecology and Chemical and Biological Oceanography, with participation in various national and international research programs in collaboration with entities and institutes conducting research in marine environmental studies. Specifically, his research addresses issues related to trophodynamic relationships between pelagic and benthic compartments, the analysis of environmental time series in relation to climate change and anthropogenic impacts, the analysis of ecosystem services and natural capital, and the study, design, and development of instrumentation for oceanographic research and marine environmental data management systems.
Managing Director for new business settlements for the Municipality of Genoa. An entrepreneur active for years in the transport, logistics, and shipping sectors. He holds numerous associative positions including Vice President of Federlogistica
Antonio Bicchi is Senior Scientist at the Italian Institute of Technology in Genoa and the Chair of Robotics at the University of Pisa. He graduated from the University of Bologna in 1988 and was a postdoc scholar at M.I.T. Artificial Intelligence lab. He teaches Robotics and Control Systems in the Department of Information Engineering (DII) of the University of Pisa. He leads the Robotics Group at the Research Center ""E. Piaggio'' of the University of Pisa since 1990. He is the head of the SoftRobotics Lab for Human Cooperation and Rehabilitation at IIT in Genoa. Since 2013 he serves ad Adjunct Professor at the School of Biological and Health Systems Engineering of Arizona State University.
From January, 2023, he is the Editor in Chief of the International Journal of Robotics Reserach (IJRR), the first scientific journal in Robotics. He has been the founding Editor-in-Chief of the IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters (2015-2019), which rapidly became the top Robotics journal by number of submissions. He has organized the first WorldHaptics Conference (2005), today the premier conference in the field. He is a co-founder and President of the Italian Institute of Robotics and Intelligent Machines (I-RIM). His main research interests are in Robotics, Haptics, and Control Systems.
From January, 2023, he is the Editor in Chief of the International Journal of Robotics Reserach (IJRR), the first scientific journal in Robotics. He has been the founding Editor-in-Chief of the IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters (2015-2019), which rapidly became the top Robotics journal by number of submissions. He has organized the first WorldHaptics Conference (2005), today the premier conference in the field. He is a co-founder and President of the Italian Institute of Robotics and Intelligent Machines (I-RIM). His main research interests are in Robotics, Haptics, and Control Systems.
Born on 19/08/1959, he has three daughters and is married to the photographer Sabrina Losso. A director, writer, and cultural organizer, he speaks and writes in English. He graduated from the Vittorino da Feltre Classical High School in Genoa and in film directing from the two-year intensive master's program at Laboratorio Cinema Roma. He founded and directed the Genoa Film Art School for 18 years. He also founded and directed the Lebowski multipurpose center for cinema and photography for 5 years and the online cultural magazine "Il Culturista" for two years. He manages the antiquarian book site www.primaedizione.net and collects ancient books. He has published three collections of poems, a novel, a photography book, and an essay on Martin Scorsese. Currently, he has directed approximately 100 films (music videos, commercials, documentaries), and as a screenwriter, he has written the "bibles" for two TV dramas and some short films/video art pieces. He has directed external shoots for several national TV programs for Mediaset and has received several awards. He has been the creator, curator, and artistic director of exhibitions and festivals such as the Incipit Festival (literature), Berengo Gardin, Lisetta Carmi, etc. (photography), the Ligurian Documentary Festival (cinema), and Bon vojage (history of cruise navigation, etc.). Since September 2018, he has been the Culture Manager of the city of Genoa.
Valentina Squeri is the Scientific Project Manager of Spoke 2 within RAISE, with IIT being the coordinator. She obtained her Bachelor's degree in Biomedical Engineering in 2006 and her Ph.D. in Humanoid Technologies in 2010 from the University of Genoa. From 2011 to 2017, she worked as a Postdoctoral Researcher at the IIT departments of Robotics Brain and Cognitive Science (2011-2015) and Rehab Technologies (2016). From 2017 to 2022, she worked at IIT's startup Movendo Technologies as a Product and Clinical Development Manager. Since 2023, she has been working at IIT as the Scientific Project Manager of Project Spoke 2-RAISE.
Giovanni Indiveri is Associate Professor in Automatics at the University of Genoa, where he graduated in Physics in 1995 and obtained his PhD in Electronic and Computer Engineering in 1999 with a thesis on the modelling of submarine robots. His research mainly concerns the modelling, navigation, guidance and control of autonomous marine robots. From 1999 to 2001 he was a Researcher in Robotics Germany at the GMD and AiS (Fraunhofer Group) near Bonn. From 2001 to 2019 he was Researcher (2001-2011) and Associate Professor (2011-2019) in Automation at the University of Salento in Lecce. Since 2019 he has been Lecturer at the University of Genoa. Since 2020 he is a member of the Technical and Scientific Committee (STC) of the Sea Centre of the University of Genoa. Since 2021 he is Director of the Interuniversity Centre on Integrated Systems for the Marine Environment (ISME). He has participated in numerous nationally and internationally funded research projects. He coordinated the European H2020 project WiMUST (2015-2018) http://www.wimust.eu on the use of autonomous marine robots for sonar data acquisition for underwater geophysical applications.
He is the author of more than 140 scientific publications on marine and mobile robotics topics. He has contributed to the International Programme Committees (IPC) of more than 80 international conferences (most of IFAC and IEEE) in Robotics, Systems and Control Engineering. He is a member of the teaching board of the National Doctorate in Robotics and Intelligent Machines and of the Doctorate in Marine Science and Technology at the University of Genoa (UNIGE). At UNIGE he teaches several modules in the Master Degree courses in Robotics Engineering (international course), Computer Engineering and Naval Engineering.
He is the author of more than 140 scientific publications on marine and mobile robotics topics. He has contributed to the International Programme Committees (IPC) of more than 80 international conferences (most of IFAC and IEEE) in Robotics, Systems and Control Engineering. He is a member of the teaching board of the National Doctorate in Robotics and Intelligent Machines and of the Doctorate in Marine Science and Technology at the University of Genoa (UNIGE). At UNIGE he teaches several modules in the Master Degree courses in Robotics Engineering (international course), Computer Engineering and Naval Engineering.
Maria Nives Riggio, an architect by training, is Deputy Director General of FILSE of which she directs the activities dedicated to business creation, innovation and technology transfer. During her career she has coordinated inter-sectoral teams for the management of actions, financial instruments and projects and in diversified fields of economic and entrepreneurial development, circular economy, territorial and environmental regeneration. She is active in partnerships with public and private actors, chairs and participates in committees for the development, incubation and investment of funds for start-ups and small and medium-sized enterprises. It directs the activities of the Genoa BIC, which obtained the status of certified incubator of innovative start-ups from MIMIT at the beginning of 2024.
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Where we are
Villa Durazzo Bombrini
Via Muratori 5, Genova (Cornigliano Area)
Parking
Villa Durazzo Bombrini has a large free parking area (approximately 300 spaces)
Contacts
To participate in the talks, registration is required. You can also register on-site at the event; we recommend arriving 30 minutes before the start of the conferences.
All activities are free of charge.
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How to get there
By car
From the A7 Highway: take the Genova-Aeroporto exit towards Genova, follow Via Cornigliano until Via Muratori. Villa Bombrini will be on the right.
From Genova Center: from Piazza Dinegro, drive through the tunnel towards Lungomare Canepa until you reach Centro Commerciale della Fiumara. Turn onto Via Pieragostini and cross Ponte Pieragostini. Just before the end of the bridge, turn right and enter the underpass on the left. Finally, turn right onto Via Muratori where you will find Villa Bombrini.
From Cristoforo Colombo Airport: 5 minutes by car or taxi. Enter Via Cornigliano following the same route as those arriving from the A7.
By bus
The nearest stop is at Piazza Massena, 5 minutes away from the Villa. Lines: 1, 2, 3
