“Maker Faire Rome – The European Edition” 10-13th December 2020

#MFR2020 is looking confidently towards the future. “We are giving space to innovation and passionately stating that we must looking ahead”

Their mission is promote to progress through the sharing of ideas by creating a virtuous ecosystem between makers, companies, institutions, schools, universities and research centres. They will have over 300 stands with ideas, prototypes and innovative projects that are ready to be unveiled, and dozens of live conferences have already been set up.

Even in a very complex year like the one we are experiencing, “Maker Faire Rome – The European edition” will be back from 10 to 13 December (https://makerfairerome.eu/en), but due to the health emergency it will take place with a completely new format. Its a big job to bring the entirety of this years event to a digital platform and they have done their best to maintain the extremely high expectations of it.

The platform is divided into various thematic channels dedicated to the main topics of Maker Faire and a Main channel, always live, on which many stories of innovation will be told during the days of the event. To this end, a real television studio will be operational in the spaces of the former Gasometer in Rome, from which there will be live links for national and international protagonists of the world of innovation right where they are working or experimenting. Among the many live links, the two unmissable ones with Antarctica and the Arctic thanks to the CNR and the new Institute of Polar Sciences on the theme of climate change and the scientific research that is carried out in those particular environments. We will then enter many university labs and meet numerous inventors where they are working and experimenting.

Maker Faire Rome is promoted and organised by the Rome Chamber of Commerce, through its special Innova Camera company.

The Main Themes

From agritech to foodtech, from digital manufacturing to robotics, from artificial intelligence to mobility, from the circular economy to health, from IoT to recycling to data science, sportech and fashion, in addition to the dedicated sections of Maker Art and Maker Music that will explore the intersection between arts, music, science and technology: the contents are ready to surprise, exactly as happened when the event was “in person”.

How to take part

It will be possible to access the platform during the days of the event with a simple Pre-registration email.  Once you confirm your email you’ll be notified on the day. (All useful information will be available on the portal https://makerfairerome.eu/en/).

To improve the visitor’s experience, you just have to profile yourself by expressing preferences on the themes and activities that you expect to find during the event. You will receive suggestions and notifications in line with your interests.

While browsing, you can assign likes, share content, chat with makers and exhibitors, ask questions or participate in the “Meet the Exhibitor” live meetings, to learn more about the projects on display. In addition, as always, there will be a calendar of live events, talks, webinars, workshops and conferences on the main themes of innovation, and also on new topics that the pandemic suggests us to explore. All this, thanks to the precious contribution of the many innovators who answered our calls: “for Makers”, “for Schools”, “for Universities and Research Institutes”. Thanks also goes to the numerous partners, public and private, who once again recognised the potential of the event and elected Maker Faire Rome as the ideal space for discussing the most innovative present and the future we are planning.

Opening Conference

This is the meeting that officially kicks off the event. This difficult year of 2020 may have confined us within our homes, but it has also confronted us with new and unprecedented challenges. We want to leave this year with a new awareness of what “collaboration” means. This is true for everyone, but even more so in the world of makers, innovators, and those who transform their ideas (sometimes their dreams) into real projects. They will share their visions, projects and innovations with us, but above all they will tell us what they think the future holds.

Called from all corners of the planet, their response has been enthusiastic. Among these are Oussama Khatib (director of the prestigious Robotics Laboratory at Stanford University, a true ambassador of world robotics), Bernie Roth (co-founder and academic director of the prestigious d.School of Stanford University, author of the bestseller “The achievement habit” that has been translated into 15 languages), Jeffrey Sachs (American economist and essayist of international renown, an expert in and passionate about climate and sustainability issues, from 2002 to 2016 director of the Earth Institute at Columbia University), Barbara Caputo (Professor of Computer Engineering at the Polytechnic of Turin and senior researcher at the Italian  Institute of Technology), Anouk Wipprecht (Dutch, stylist, designer and innovator, pioneer of fashion tech), Francesca Zarri (Director Technology, R&D & Digital of Eni).  They and other prestigious keynote speakers will be the absolute protagonists of the MFR 2020 Opening Conference entitled “Re:Make the World, together” that will be held for free, online, Thursday 10 December (18-20), and also supplemented by prestigious institutional speeches such as those of the Ministers for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Luigi Di Maio, and University and Research, Gaetano Manfredi.

COVID RESPONSE

There will also be a special space under the title “Maker’s Response”, also dedicated to the experiences of Italian, African and American makers in these months of pandemic: inventions and activities to tackle the disease and support health and safety systems. In short, good ideas turned into facts, just when they are needed. And in this regard, we will also hear the valuable testimonies from America to Africa of Gui Cavalcanti, founder and co-executive director of Open Source Medical Supplies and JuneMadete, Biomedical engineer, researcher in Bioengineering and senior lecturer at Kenyatta University, Nairobi, Kenya, with her electrical and electronic engineering student Fidel Makatia Omusilibwa. There will be connections with many Italian makers including Enrico Bassi (coordinator Opendot Fab Lab), Martina Ferracane, Antonio Cosimati, Davide Mariani, operating throughout the national territory. And as always, we will start our journey with Massimo Banzi, co-founder of Arduino.

Robotics and Artificial intelligenceR

Among the main topics that, over the years, have been discussed at Maker Faire Rome, and which have aroused growing interest from the public, are robotics and artificial intelligence. This is also thanks to the increasingly solid collaborations with the Institute of Robotics and Intelligent Machines (I-Rim) and the  Laboratory of Artificial Intelligence of the Cini (National Interuniversity Consortium for Informatics).

Once again this year, there are dozens of creations and prototypes that will be presented to the public proposed by individual makers, universities, university spin-offs and research institutes. A wide range of projects, ranging from the medical to the investigative sector, from transport to cultural heritage. These include those of the Soft Robotics Laboratory of the Italian Institute of Technology, which deals in particular with the design and control of the next generation of robots, the Polytechnic of Milan, the Sant’Anna High School of Pisa, the University of Bologna, the University of Siena, the Federico II University of Naples and the Biomedical Campus of Rome.

Hyfliers will also be illustrated within this area, a Horizon 2020 project that has developed the world’s first integrated robot with hybrid air and land mobility, equipped with a handler that can reach areas that no other robot can access, reducing the exposure of human inspectors to potentially hazardous working conditions.

In support of the strong interest in these issues, collaboration with the Institute of Robotics and Intelligent Machines (I-RIM) chaired by Antonio Bicchi was consolidated. In its second edition, I-RIM 3D (scheduled from 10 to 12 December, from 10 to 18) is already a reference point for those who want to make technological innovation: a meeting point between research and industry, where important issues can be discussed, such as the drafting of the National Research Plan 2021-2027 and the new initiatives linked to the revival of our economy, which cannot fail to include research and innovation in robotics and intelligent machines.

I-RIM 3D 2020, organised by Barbara Mazzolai and Domenico Prattichizzo, has a record numbers of participants this year, testifying to the liveliness of research and the Italian robotics industry, recently confirmed in the first place in the world for intensity of scientific production.

The AIIS laboratory of CINI, thanks to various speakers, will tell the general public about the research activities, studies, innovations and experiments in the context of artificial intelligence in progress at the affiliated laboratories in the various national locations. Specifically, projects on the industry, society and security front will be presented.

Still on the artificial intelligence front, there will be a series of seminars organised by Pi Campus, an investment fund, incubator and accelerator of innovative companies. Among the workshops proposed are “AI for startup founders” and “How to teach machines to translate human language”, held by prominent speakers such as Marco Trombetti, Sébastien Bratières, Marcello Federico, Chris Nicholson and Lukasz Kaiser. 

Maker Art and Maker Music

After last year’s success, MakerArt, the section dedicated to the relationship between contemporary art and new technologies, is returning to MFR 2020. The number of artists attending is growing, over 40 and coming from all over the world with new, experimental and engaging projects including: Antoni Abad, Elena Bellantoni, Juan Cortes, Rä di Martino, Ken Goldberg, Claudia Hart, Steve Lambert, Miltos Manetas, MASBEDO, Donato Piccolo, Signe Pierce, Quayola,  Michel Reilhac, Jakob Kudsk Steensen,  Celine Tricart, Anouk Wipprecht and among the talks those of Lev Manovich, Christiane Paul and Asher Remy Toledo, director of the Hyphen Hub, a non-profit organisation that explores and promotes the use of new forms of art integrated with technology.

Maker Art is, therefore, a very rich bouquet that, in this particular historical moment, will help us reflect on the complex era we are living in. National and international collaborations are growing and new sections are being added: Between Art and Cinema in collaboration with Rai Cinema, for example, will propose a dialogue between the MakerArt platform and the Rai Cinema application, to experience projects in 3D / 360 / and for those with VR goggles.

From the collaboration with the startup AR Market, a unique project of its kind has been developed. Three artists, among the most important in Europe (Rä di Martino, Elena Bellantoni and Antoni Abad) will offer the public a representation of their concepts by exploiting the potential of augmented reality, which can be used using the app developed by AR Market and customised for MakerArt.  Using a tablet or smartphone, wherever people are, even from the comfort of their homes, they will be transported to a new dimension where reality merges with digital images.

In collaboration with the United States Embassy, MFR 2020 will give space to the voice of scientific and artistic innovation for everything related to new media theories, to discover interesting dossiers about Digital Art and Sound Art with personalities such as Lev Manovich, lecturer of the Computer Science Program at the City University of New York, as well as author of the well-known book “Language of New Media”, translated into fourteen languages; Christiane Paul curator and director of the Sheila C. Johnson Design Center, member of the Parsons School of Design in New York and associate professor of Visual Art at the School of Media Studies at The New School NY, as well as author of countless books on media art and Ken Goldberg, lecturer and chair of the Department of Industrial Engineering and Operations Research at the University of California, Berkeley, artist, writer, inventor, one of the world’s leading researchers in the field of robotics and automation. Finally, Opere Online will set up ad hoc projects designed to immerse you in visual and sensorial experiences.

MUSIC 2020 made us discover that we can make music at home and that a balcony can become a stage. We have seen how difficult it is to be without music and how many professions are behind every singer, record or concert. We understood that many people create music and that technology can turn concerts into a new experience. Maker Music recounts all this. It recounts the making of music in a complicated yet stimulating period. The creation process will be illustrated through talks, workshops and sessions in the recording studio, from the idea to the live performance. And this is thanks to artists, professionals and thinkers who will guide us to discover how music is made and what music can do. How does a record producer manipulate the sound? How does a singer find the exact words that resonate with millions of people? Is there sustainable music? Can artificial intelligence write hit pop songs? Maker Music has the answers to all these questions. In addition, among the many “goodies” of this section, there is also the Maker Music Endless Jam, the largest remote music jam ever organised.

Agrifood and Sustainability

Despite the current difficulties, the sustainability and agrifood section of the event presents a rich panorama of innovations applicable to businesses, agricultural supply chains and local systems. The panorama is very interesting because it gives concrete responses to the themes of European green transition and to farm to fork and biodiversity strategies.

The most important national an international research bodies as well as universities and a selection of private companies engaged in the world of innovation participate in the activities of Maker Faire 2020. Overall, over 60 innovations for agriculture and the environment will be presented. These include the RobotLamp, the LED lamp for indoor cultivation created by the Ferrari Farm company in Petrella Salto (Rieti), one of the most innovative and technological companies in all of Italy. RobotLamp was built to provide the best lighting conditions for indoor crops, in order to optimise plant photosynthesis. Or, staying with the unfortunately complex issue of the current pandemic, interested parties will be able to understand how in the laboratories of the Enea della Casaccia Research Centre, the tobacco plant has produced molecules that could be useful to develop, in a short time, safe and cheap new vaccines and new diagnostic tools to deal with any new health emergencies.

At the same time, in the thematic channel (virtual pavilion) of sustainability, twenty cultural and training events will be held dedicated to the themes of innovation for the challenges of the climate, rural development, the new extra-urban housing, the importance of nutritional science in Covid era, and the transition towards integral sustainability. Maker Faire will also be an opportunity to celebrate the award of the Nobel Prize to the World Food Program, which, like other major international food institutions, is based in our city.

The Santa Chiara Lab, the centre for innovation of the University of Siena, is the content partner of the initiative for the agrifood sector and will animate the digital pavilion on sustainability, contributing to the themes of innovation for sustainable agriculture: four scheduled events with debates and presentation of solutions and concrete cases for the sustainable future of Italian agrifood.

There are many names and personalities that the Lab will bring to Maker Faire: in addition to Angelo Riccaboni, President of the Centre, Jeffrey Sachs, President of the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN)-

The three days of the event will also include “Sustainable coffees”-

Education

New generations look to the future through the Maker Faire Rome. This is confirmed by the large participation of universities and schools through the relative calls. The Education area of MFR 2020 will make it possible to admire the projects from 29 Italian secondary schools, from Sicily to Friuli Venezia Giulia, and 5 European schools (two from Croatia and then Estonia, Romania and Portugal).

There will also be 25 projects from as many ITS (Higher Technical Institutes), from all over Europe. The area also has a broad educational offering for teachers, with opportunities for webinars, training and refresher workshops (60 different educational contents ready, with prominent personalities, Italian and international, from the world of education that will address various issues to provide a multifaceted vision looking towards the future on the challenges that schools are facing in this particular year). There will be recreational and learning paths for students of all ages to make together with their parents (from how to create interactive software and video games to how to shape 3D objects in a simple and intuitive way with free and accessible online tools).

Sportech

Everything changes, even sport. Driving the change – still not known well enough yet – are the technological innovations that are transforming the way you train and measure your performance. The Sportech area was dedicated precisely to technology, to let interested parties know how much research is improving the gaming activities that we are so passionate about. An area entirely dedicated to the technological development of sporting activity in the competitive and amateur fields will, therefore, be available on the platform, from where it will be possible to observe how innovations in the field of materials, measurements and health are modifying performance and diffusion of sporting culture. All this provides job opportunities, often with a high scientific content and in research: debate and presentation topics to be followed online where, among others, Luca Parmitano, astronaut and first Italian in command of the International Space Station (ISS), and a huge sports fan. 

Fashion

Fashion will also have an important space at MFR 2020, with the second edition of the [R3]Circle – Riuso Riciclo Rigenero project, to support and promote emerging brands on the contemporary fashion scene. Through a virtual showcase, it will be possible to get to know the profiles, work and collections of 13 of the designers Adelaide C., Bav Tailor, Blue of a Kind, Kianid, Maria Sapio, Repainted, Cru Le, Ferilli Eyewear, Fili Pari, Giulia Boccafogli, Italo Marsiglia, Yekaterina Ivankova and Francesca Marchisio. Videos, look-books, brand profiles, live and on-demand interviews to discover the new talents of Made in Italy, who will present themselves to give the right attention and importance to the concept of circular economy in fashion. A new system, an approach to production that is demonstrating just how much regenerating and revaluing – reducing waste and optimising materials and processes – can implement the business and at the same time support the collaboration between the small and medium-sized enterprises that make up this complex supply chain.

Eni is the principal partner for the seventh consecutive year of the “Maker Faire Rome – The European Edition”, because technologies, together with skills, are the strategic lever to achieve the ambitious objectives in terms of decarbonisation that Eni has set itself in the Strategic Plan to 2050. The “control room” of this digital edition of Maker Faire Rome – The European Edition will be located at the Eni spaces in Rome Ostiense, headquarters of Joule, the Eni School for Business, which from spring 2021 will host the startups that want to contribute to the planet’s decarbonisation and circular economy objectives. This year, Eni will talk about the commitment of the whole company, from its businesses to its subsidiaries, for a just transition, an energy transition that contributes to preserving the environment, giving access to energy to all and that is socially fair, as defined in the new Mission linked to the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the UN. Eni, thanks to the evolution of its business model, intends to become a leading company in the supply of decarbonised products based on the targets defined by the Strategic Plan to 2050. Not only technological innovations for decarbonisation, Eni will also present JUST (Join Us in a Sustainable Transition), a programme of initiatives aimed at Eni suppliers, current and future, to involve them in the transformation of the company and build together an ecosystem of companies that are protagonists of an equitable and sustainable energy transition, and JOULE, Eni’s School for Business, which has just been launched and had about 5 thousand subscribers in a month to the Open training platform and 7 incubation courses with as many innovative startups (Rice House, Reset, Wave For Energy, Photo B-Otic, M2D Technologies, Rehouse-It, Bi-Rex).

“Maker Faire Rome – The European Edition” can count on the support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and has availed itself of the valuable collaboration of institutional partners such as the ITA (Italian Trade Agency) Agenzia ICE, Agency for promotion abroad and internationalisation of Italian companies. Also this year the ICE, in order to contribute to strengthening the fair and making it increasingly international and business-oriented, organised a virtual incoming of about thirty operators identified through its offices abroad, (investors, journalists, bloggers) from France, Germany, UK, USA and Israel.

Among the institutional partners, the Lazio Region will once again be present, a solid collaboration with MFR that has also been reinforced thanks to the Maker Academy project created with Lazio Innova. This is a rich cycle of training and in-depth webinars dedicated to makers, companies and aspiring entrepreneurs, to develop technological skills in the 4.0 business environment. The Lazio Region, together with MFR, will also award the best Lazio maker present at the event, from among the applications received through the Call for Maker, whose project stands out for its innovation, creativity and development potential.

Data Driven Innovation 2020

This year, Make Faire Rome will open, as a preview, with the 2020 edition of Data Driven Innovation (DDI) (https://2020.datadriveninnovation.org/en/), scheduled for 10 December (10-18). This is the largest Italian conference on the role of data in innovation. DDI, promoted and implemented by the University of Roma Tre and Maker Faire Rome with the scientific contribution of the “Piero Calamandrei” Foundation, is the event where data scientists and specialists from numerous application domains explain how the culture of data is changing our society and our economy. Data Driven Innovation 2020 will take place on the MFR digital platform. An online event that will discuss Biomedicine, Marketing; Predictive Analytics, Artificial Intelligence, Digital Government, Mobility, Tourism, Industrial Processes, Big Data Analytics and any other sector where data has (and will have) a disruptive impact. There will be many prominent speakers, including Guido Silvestri, Antonella Grassigli, Vincenzo Zeno Zencovich, Paolo Benanti, Paolo Ghezzi, Giuseppe Sindoni, Dario Pagani, Luciano Pietronero, Alex Vespignani, Francesca Benati, Giovanna Manzi.

This year’s contests

Maker Faire Rome is not just a point of arrival for the many makers who exhibit their projects, but also a starting point towards a better future.

For this reason, the 2020 edition has also been enriched with contests and special initiatives aimed at enhancing the best projects, to ensure visibility and the development of the various initiatives presented: a public and tangible recognition of the value of the creativity exhibited during the event.

These include “Make to Care”, the open innovation initiative from Sanofi, now in its fifth edition, (with a new all virtual format) and always very well attended, aimed at bringing out and facilitating the realisation, as well as innovative and useful solutions to respond to the real needs of people living with a disability due to pathologies and/or traumatic events. The 2020 edition of Make to Care has the patronage of the Israeli Embassy. The Mediterranean “start-up nation”, which boasts the highest density of innovative companies, especially in digital technologies, will be the destination of the training experience that the creators of the winning projects, proclaimed on 10 December during the MFR Opening Conference, will be awarded.

Organisation and partners

Maker Faire Rome is promoted and organised by the Rome Chamber of Commerce, through its special company Innova Camera.

The curated content of “Maker Faire Rome – The European Edition 2020” is by Alessandro Ranellucci accompanied by a qualified team of area managers: Carlo Hausmann (food and agritech), Mauro Spagnolo (circular economy), Valentino Catricalà (art), Andrea Lai and Alex Braga (music), Luca Di Bartolomei (sport), and Adriano Franchi (fashion).

MFR 2020 has the patronage of Roma Capitale, the United States Embassy and the Israeli Embassy in Italy and has partnerships with Sviluppo Campania, Inail, InfoCamere, Unioncamere, Unioncamere Lazio, Dintec, Pid.

The numerous national and international sponsors have made the event feasible and multiplied the offer of usable contents. These include Eni (main partner), Sanofi, Acea, Terna, Unicredit, Arrow Electronics, Unidata (gold partner), STMicroelectronics, CampuStore, Conrad, Teko (bronze partner).

Maker Faire Rome also counts on the valuable support of media partners such as RAI (main media partner TV that will be present with various specialised publications of the group),

To stay constantly up-to-date: www.makerfairerome.eu – #MFR2020; Facebook: @Maker Faire Rome; Twitter: @MakerFaireRome; Instagram: @Maker Faire Rome