“Franco Mosca” Robotics Festival: Sixth Edition Dedicated to Technologies for Disabilities in Developmental Age. The Contribution of Sant’Anna School

Three days of meetings, educational workshops, games, sports, demonstrations, and performances. The Robotics Festival reaches its sixth edition and goes beyond barriers, with a new perspective focused on disability, developmental age, and technology, offering a unique shared and participatory experience born from the collaboration between scientific research, associations, and companies.

The event, which this year is dedicated to the memory of Professor Franco Mosca, will take place at the Olympic Training Center in Tirrenia (Pisa) from May 15 to 17 and will spotlight the support that robotics, artificial intelligence, and cutting-edge technologies can provide to children and young people with different motor, cognitive, and sensory abilities, becoming tools for inclusion and play. The event program is coordinated by Professor Mauro Ferrari, president of the Tech Care Foundation, which organizes the festival together with the Municipality of Pisa, IRCCS Fondazione Stella Maris, the University of Pisa, and the Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies, with the support of numerous national clinical and research centers and associations dedicated to disability. The Festival is supported by the Tuscany Region, the Regional Council of Tuscany, Fondazione Pisa, and Fondazione ARPA.

The Contribution of Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies

The Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies contributes to the new edition with talks, conferences, demonstrations, and a stand dedicated to the research activities of the BioRobotics Institute.

Among the demonstrations will be CAB, the “Bathing-Enabling Wheelchair.” No cables, no batteries, no electronics — just air and a desire for the sea. CAB is a solution designed to facilitate access to the sea and bathing activities for people with motor disabilities. Developed from technologies derived from the underwater sector, CAB operates through a pneumatic propulsion system, without batteries or electric motors. The demonstration will be conducted by Vincenzo Genovese (SSSA BioRobotics Institute), Marco Presenti, Davide Bani, and Alberto Gabbrielli (Cineclub Arsenale, Bagno degli Americani), and Soriano Ceccanti (mobility systems expert).

On Saturday, May 16 at 11:30 a.m., the roundtable discussion “Responsible Innovation in Developmental Age: Building Alliances among Research, Clinical Practice, Industry, and Institutions” will take place, moderated by Gastone Ciuti, Director of the BioRobotics Institute, with the participation of Rector Nicola Vitiello and pro-rector for Relations with Companies, Institutions and the Local Area Giuseppe Turchetti.

On Saturday at 5:30 p.m., the event “CALL FOR SOLUTIONS: From Need to Solution, the Path of Innovation through the Voice of Associations”, conducted by Giuseppe Turchetti will bring together proposals for operational and immediately implementable solutions in the fields of robotics and artificial intelligence. Among the speakers will be Gastone Ciuti, who will also take part in the conference “Robotics and Artificial Intelligence in Disability: Autonomy, Representation, and Sport as a Laboratory,” scheduled for Sunday, May 17 at 10:30 a.m.

The event will also feature a stand from the BioRobotics Institute with an exhibition path illustrating its scientific activities through several of its research groups: the Neuro-Robotic Touch Laboratory: studying the human sense of touch to replicate it in artificial devices and sensors; the Wearable Robotics Laboratory: exoskeletons and wearable assistive devices for rehabilitation and movement enhancement; Surgical Robotics and Allied Technologies: artificial organs, physical simulators, and smart metamaterials supporting patients with chronic diseases; the Soft Mechatronics for BioRobotics Laboratory: sensorized devices and toys for early diagnosis in newborns, simulators, and soft artificial organs; the Surface Phenomena and Integrated Systems Lab: bio-inspired systems and energy generated from surface interactions; the Artificial Hands Area: the frontier of human-machine interfaces through robotic hands.

“The Robotics Festival is a great opportunity to highlight the innovative energy that drives our territory. I believe Pisa has all the credentials to establish itself as an international point of reference for those who wish to conduct outstanding research and invest in innovation. This year again, the Sant’Anna School takes part in the Festival with conferences, debates, and demonstrations dedicated to robotics, artificial intelligence, and inclusion: technology can truly make a difference when it serves people’s well-being,” stated Rector Nicola Vitiello.

Participation in the Festival is free of charge. The official program and links for registration and activity enrollment are available on the official website: www.roboticafestival.i