Once again this year, Sony CSL – Rome is taking part in Maker Faire Rome, the event dedicated to makers and innovators from across Europe that is more and more reserving a wide space for the world of research as the various editions over the years, where Sony CSL – Rome has participated in and supported the initiative underlined.

In this specific 11th edition, those visiting Fiera di Roma from tomorrow until Sunday will explore the Sony CSL – Rome stands located in Pavilion 3 and discover its latest developments and research projects, with some insights from the labs in Paris and from the headquarters.

Numerous research projects will be showcased at the fair, focusing on two key words: humanity and technology. The researchers from Sony CSL – Rome will elaborate on these two major topics within the Maker Faire context, discussing, for example, how data can be used to improve our cities and make them accessible and enjoyable for everyone. Starting with mobility and touching on social inclusion, urban design, and citizen well-being, the “Sustainable Cities” research line will not only talk about “15-Minute Cities” as during the previous editions, but also about the “City of the Opportunity”. The team will also present an interactive installation where people will be asked to help researchers to create a perception map of the city of Rome. Not just scientific research, but also sharing and listening to citizens’ needs.

Within the Sony CSL – Rome exhibition area at the fair, colleagues from the Enrico Fermi Research Center will also be present with a stand dedicated to the physics of complexity and how this discipline can be useful in different areas such as technological innovation and the economy.

Furthermore, it will be possible to understand how a virtuous integration between AI and humans is achievable in areas of application such as learning, information, and art, to name a few. Projects like “ARTIS”, in collaboration with CRC, aim to use AI to improve text comprehension in children in elementary and middle school. The platform also provides valuable support in case of learning disorders, expanding the possibilities of therapeutic professions. The “VALAWAI” project and all the related research from the “Infosphere” line will give an overview on the health status of our information system and will focus on how AI can be used against some of its most serious issues like misinformation and polarization. Continuing with AI, the “Face to Face” project by the “Augmented Creativity” research line will reveal how machines’ creativity really works and how it is evolving, with an interactive installation open to all. Through the new edition of “S+T+ARTS,” a project funded by the European Union, the relationship between art and science will be investigated in a perspective where the two different fields are not in antagonism but can mutually benefit.

The art-science relationship  is also prominent in another significant project at the fair: the “Dis.able | Hyper.able” project, born from the collaboration between Sony CSL’s labs in Rome and Tokyo, and the National Choreographic Center Aterballetto. Researcher Ken Endo from the Sony CSL – Transboundary Research in Tokyo has worked for years on the idea of prosthetics as an extension of the body capable of making it hyper-able. An extension of the body that is no longer just a tool to address a physical trauma or conceal a disability but becomes a true expressive tool. The performance that will be presented in preview this afternoon during the opening ceremony at Gazometro Ostiense, is titled “Body into the fight,” and it is a collaboration between the National Choreographic Center/Aterballetto and Sony CSL – Rome. It has been created by Diego Tortelli for Karim Randè, a disabled circus artist, and for the performer Giuseppe Morello.

It represents an important stage of the project “Dis.able | Hyper.able” that was born from the desire to overcome the boundaries of various disciplines and address some important social themes in a transversal way. 

During the performance, Karim Randè will dance wearing a special prosthesis designed by Ken Endo.