Nexus exhibition: The History of the Connection between Human and Robot

The meeting between human and robot in the collective imagination, in the technique and in the contemporary science finds its fulfilment in the exhibition entitled Nexus. The exhibition is open from Saturday, 23 January to Tuesday, March 15, at the “Palazzo Medico Ricciardi”, Florence, and is the result of a project that involved the Biorobotics Institute of Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies, Museo Galileo and Department of Social, Political and Cognitive Sciences of Università di Siena, with the support of Ministry of Education, Universities and Research and the patronage of Tuscany Region, City of Florence and Metropolitan City of Florence.

The exhibition was presented by some representatives of institutions: Maria Chiara Carrozza, Full Professor at the Biorobotics Institute, Paolo Galluzzi, Director of Museo Galilei, Francesco Frati, Vice-Rector of Università di Siena, Monica Barni, Vice-President of Tuscany Region, Eugenio Giani, President of Regional Council of Tuscany, Emiliano Fossi, council member of Metropolitan City of Florence and Cristina Giachi, Vice-mayor of City of Florence.

“Nexus” project consists of the exhibition and a series of meetings. The exhibition is an event of greater visual impact and aims to involve many sectors of public opinion.

Abstract

The last few decades have been characterized by a very strong development of machines that restore or extend human capabilities. Now these machines have an unprecedented ability to respond toexternal stimuli. Their interaction with humans is so intimate that it can be better defined as a partnership instead of a relationship between an individual and an instrument.

This exhibition presents current biorobotics research and its extraordinary achievements as well as significant historical documents. It also shows the parallel paths of science and the collective imagination, from ancient mythology until today’s science fiction. Without claiming to be exhaustive, the Nexus exhibition aims at being a starting point to go deeper into this subject and to think about the critical ethical and political questions that arise from the use of biorobotics technology.

In addition of exhibition, the project involves a series of meetings organized at the Palazzo Bastogi (Florence), in collaboration with the Regional Council of Tuscany and Associazione Caffè-Scienza.

The program of the meetings:

Thursday 28 January, 5 p.m

Giovanni Di Pasquale (Museo Galileo): History of robot from antiquity to the 19th century

Thursday 4 Febraury, 5 p.m.

Silvestro Micera (Professor of Biorobotics Institute): Bionic Systems: risks and opportunities

Thursday 11 February, 5 p.m.

Paolo Dario (Director of Biorobotics Institute): Biorobotics and Bionic: scientific technological and social challenges.

Thursday 18 Febraury, 5 p.m.

Guglielmo Tamburrini (Università Federico II Napoli): Robotics and responsible technology development

Thursday 25 Febraury, 5 p.m.

Mario Costa (Università di Salerno): Robot and Comunication (Università di Salerno): Robots and aesthetics of communication

Thursday 3 March, 5 p.m.

Riccardo Putti (Università of Siena): Sex robots in the imagination

Thursday 10 March, 5 p.m.

Elena Bougleux (Università di Bergamo): Theory about cyborgs: the figure, machines, worlds