RomeCup
The 1st international City of Rome Robotics Cup was held in the capital on May 4, 2007 in the Protomoteca Room in Campidoglio, where delegations of school children and teachers from various parts of the world took part in three different events: a competition, an exhibition area with the projects developed at the schools, and a workshop dedicated to robodidactics.
Robots designed and assembled by students competed in different categories: explorer robots, fighting robots, and football playing robots. One of the event’s most dramatic moments was the three-way match between robots from Italy, Portugal, and Spain that was won by the Italian team in the end. At the end of the match, the winners were announced and the trophies were awarded.
As the morning’s competitions were in progress, an update on the state-of-the-art of robotics and automated teaching at the teachers’ seminar entitled “Robodidactics in Schools – Comparing experiences” was provided by Giammarco Verruggio, President of the School of Robotics, and Daniele Nardi, Professor of Artificial Intelligence at Rome’s La Sapienza University. Experiences of excellence at Italian schools in Rome, Pisa, Catania, Latina, and Grosseto were also presented. The event aroused lively interest in the audience and the national press, which provided extensive coverage through various types of reportage at local and national level.
Ever since then, the RomeCup, excellence in robotics in Rome has become a regular appointment that keeps evolving with every new edition.
The 2nd edition (2008) featured an international workshop on European methods for the development of robotics in schools in the context of the “Robodidactics” Project. In the exhibition area, the experts from the 17th Raiders Squadron simulated the intervention of landmine disarming robots during public security missions and in international peacekeeping operations.
The innovations presented at the 3rd edition (2009) included the first Robolimpiadi held in Rome in which different classes of humanoid robots competed in various events, from footraces to gymnastics. In addition to the pilot projects launched at schools (the anthropomorphic robot hand, “riddler” robots, “ecologist” robots, etc.), the exhibition area hosted a sector dedicated to the inclusive applications of biomedical robots (from early diagnosis to learning impairment to remote-controlled physical rehabilitation”). The international conference was dedicated to the theme “Schools and robotics, a pair in evolution” and provided a comparison of all the best teaching practices starting from those adopted at day-care centers. In order to provide sufficient space to all these new experiences, one section of the seminar was reserved to “Robotics Pills”.
For the 4th Edition (2010), the RomeCup assumed an increasingly international dimension: the 3-day event provided the occasion for the picking of the national team for RoboCup Junior 2010: the winners became part of the team that went to RoboCup 2010 Singapore. The categories in competition were Soccer, Dance, and Rescue. For the first time in the Soccer Category, also “featherweight” robots were admitted to national competition. The Robocup Mediterranean Open 2010, the humanoid robot championship open to universities in all the Mediterranean basin, was held at the same time.
The 5th Edition (2011) expanded the traditional three-events-in-one formula (competitions, exhibition area, and conferences) with significant additions: teaching workshops for schools of every kind and level that involved over 2,000 students in just two days, workshops for teachers, and an institutional appointment for the signing of the first networking agreement that launched a long-term national strategy for robodidactics. The exhibition area featured an itinerary of educational robots and service robots.
The 6th Edition (2012) consolidated the relationship between schools and businesses. The exhibition area open to students of all ages hosted laboratories dedicated to robodidactics in collaboration with generators of excellence in the field, such as STMicroelectronics, Waseda University of Tokyo, the University of Catania (Department of Electric, Electronic and Systems Engineering), Comau S.p.A, Rete Robotica a Scuola (Robotics Network at School), the Genova School of Robotics, and other important partners in the effort.
The 7th Edition (2013) brought the competitions in the Cospace Theatre category to Italy for the first time and the launching of the First LEIS (Lego Education Innovation Studio) in Rome. Over 30 schools from 12 Italian regions competed, and 20 study workshops were held for students together with various seminars in innovative teaching methods offered to their teachers. The event also featured three conferences on robotics and the future, work, and development. More than 30 companies and organizations renowned for the excellence put their products and services on display in the exhibition area. The Jobot Matching Day, an encounter between the young, companies, and universities was held on the final day.
To relive the event [films and photos]
· 3rd Edition: video
· 4th Edition: video
· 5th Edition: video
· 6th Edition: video
· 7th Edition: video
For more detail [material in pdf]
The press folder from the 7th Edition
The documentation of the previous editions is available at the event’s website
