WP4 - Dissemination and outreach

WP4 objective is to enhance UNIZG-FER networking capacity and scientific visibility through dissemination and outreach activities planned for a general public and school students. Through this work package we will provide an organized, relevant, timeactual and multimedia experience of AeRoTwin.


Dissemination and outreach activities:

 

Dissemination plan

website

social networks

PR

 


News

Christmas robot party

The Advent fever did not bypass the robots and drones that occupied the Maksimir Center for Culture and Information at Švarcova 18 on Wednesday, December 22, from 1 pm to 8 pm, and served visitors hot drinks and Christmas treats!

Author: Tamara Petrović
Elementary School Eugen Kvaternik...

On Friday, 1 October 2021, a group of eight upper-grade students from the Elementary School Eugen Kvaternik in Velika Gorica visited the LARICS lab accompanied by their informatics teacher Dalija Kager. The students learned about various types of sensors we use for that purpose and got to observe the changes in measured values in real-time as they interacted with the plants. They also helped us to water the plants properly using a soil humidity sensor. The children and even their teacher had a lot of interesting questions about the project and our lab, and they were excited to share their own experiences with microcontrollers and programming with us.

Author: Tamara Petrović
Croatian National TV - TV show Prometej

In September 2021 Prof. Stjepan Bogdan, Dean Martinović, Ph.D., Marijana Peti, and Marko Križmančić talked about the WATCHPLANT project in a report on Croatian National Television in Tv Show Prometej. They discussed the goals of the project, its importance for the general public, and the current progress of the research. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wu3wrrDTL48
 

Author: Tamara Petrović
LARICS at Dronijada in Varaždin

LARICS members paricipated in the first edition of Dronijada that took place on June 5 , 2021 in Varaždin. The event was organized by LERAMISAeroklub Varaždin and Croatian International Airshow Varazdin, and featured FPV races, commmercial drone fly zone, and exhibiton.

LARICS memebrs took this opportunity to promote project AeRoTwin, and the upcoming DroneDays 2021, as well as the other activities of the lab and their equipment.

 

Author: Ana Golec
Robotics and AI in Society Impacts...

At the event "Robotics and AI in Society: Impacts and Questions Raised", organized jointly by the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing and the Embassy of Portugal in Croatia, on May 20, 2021, an interesting exchange of expert opinions and quality discussion between scientists and members of the academic and diplomatic community.

The gathering was welcomed by H. E. Ambassador of Portugal Paula Leal da Silva, and Dean of FER, Prof. Gordan Gledec. The program was led by an experienced researcher Fausto Ferreira, from the Department of Automation and Computer Engineering.

Presentations by Prof. Pedra Lime, from the Superior Técnico Institute of the University of Lisbon and Tomislav Bracanović from the Zagreb Institute of Philosophy, were followed by the round table on the implications of introducing artificial intelligence in our daily lives, with special emphasis on its impact on our jobs. The round table was moderated by the Vice Dean for Research, Prof. Nikola Mišković, and attended by Prof. Stjepan Bogdan, Prof. Lime and Tomislav Bracanović.

Recording of the event is available on FER’s YouTube channel.

 

Author: Ana Golec
Conference on the Future of Europe:...

To kickoff the Conference on the Future of Europe, the Office of European Parliament in Croatia and the Croatian Parliament have organized a thematic event called "The Conference on the Future of Europe: Vision of Croatia". The emphasis of the event was placed on digital and green technologies, promoting successful stories and discussing a more equitable economy and education. 

UNIZG FER's Center for Artificial Intelligence, represented by professor Loncaric, was invited to showcase its efforts to digitally transform the Croatian society. Professor Loncaric was accompanied by LARICS team (professor Kovacic, Frano Petric and Ivan Hrabar) and our robot Pepper that became the first robotic member of the Croatian Parliament by interrupting the talk of Gordan Jandrokovic, the Speaker of the Parliament (Pepper, MP ). Pepper also had a more amicable interation with professor Loncaric, who used the opportunity to invite companies from Croatia to contact the Center for Artificial Intelligence to discuss the transfer of technologies being developed at the Faculty. The event generated a lot of interest in the media (PRESS section), so the invitation of professor Loncaric will hopefully spark some future collaborations with the industry. 

Author: Ana Golec
Fulbright Scholarships Program...

On Tuesday, March 30, 2021, LARICS is organizing an online presentation of Fulbright Scholarships Program for researchers and PhD students. The presentation will be held by Mrs. Vanja Ratković, Established Opinion Leaders Specialist from the U.S Embassy Zagreb. Assistant Public Affairs Officer Mrs. Elise Crane will make a short introduction to welcome the participants. The presentation starts at 10 a.m. via MS Teams platform. To join, please follow: Fulbright Scholarship Presentation

Author: Ana Golec

Prof. Stjepan Bogdan held a lecture on "Mission planning in heterogeneous robotic systems“ at the first conference on trends and application of artificial intelligence Bounding Box 2021 that was held on Friday, March 26, in Osijek (Croatia), emphasizing that it is a fast-growing technology that is increasingly applied in various areas of business and life and is becoming an industry.

Author: Tamara Petrović
Windows Open Days 2020

 

Instead of the annually held University of Zagreb Fair and Doors Open Day at UNIZG FER, this year the event had a special edition. The alternative Windows Open Days featured a programme that was streamed via MS Teams. UNIZG-FER's “windows” were open from November 19 to 21, 2020. LARICS also participated in the programme within the session Introducing projects - Ask professors what you want to know about robotics. LARICS members presented the lab, their activities, robots, and projects. The extensive programme is available as YouTube videos at https://smotra.fer.unizg.hr/

Author: Ana Golec
Stjepan Bogdan held an invited talk...

In celebration of the World Bee Day (May 20), Prof. Stjepan Bogdan held an invited talk “Swarm Intelligence in Animal-Robot Interaction” at the Technical Museum Nikola Tesla in Zagreb. Prof. Bogdan presented very interesting results of research done on bee communication channels and social behaviour of bees. The talk was a part of a special programme the Museum had prepared to raise awareness of the importance of pollinators, the threats they face and their contribution to sustainable development.

Author: Ana Golec
Elementary School Ksaver Šandor...

On Saturday, 1 February 2020, LARICS members Marko Križmančić, Robert Milijaš and Antonella Barišić hosted around 20 second-grade students from the Elementary School Ksaver Šandor Gjalski in the LARICS lab.

The students had the opportunity to see LARICS' robots operate, and to learn about their functionalities in a simple and interesting way. The students also learned about different types of robots, how they move and perceive the world around them. Robot arm Franka was giving out candy and picking up items which caused a lot of excitement.

The students got to operate spheric robots Sphero and walking robots STEMI using a mobile phone application. The students had most fun interacting with the dancing humanoid robot Pepper. They also expressed great interest in UAVs and remote controlling. Everyone learned a lot of new things and the hosts had a difficult task answering all the questions.

Check out photos and students' drawings inspired by the visit in the Gallery

Author: Ana Golec
Ivana Mikolic held an invited talk at...

On 8 January 2020, Ivana Mikolic held an invited talk within the 5th year course Organisation and Management at University of Zagreb Faculty of Economics and Business. Ivana was invited by the Dr. Rebeka Danijela Vlahov together with Andrej Hanzir (LEAP Summit) to share knowledge and experience in managing EU projects. After the introductory presentations, a panel discussion was initiated between the guest lecturers and the students.

Author: Ana Golec
Croatian daily newspaper on project...

On 2 January 2020, Croatian daily newspaper Jutarnji list published an article on project Specularia (Structurized Ecological Cultivation with Autonomous Robots in Indoor Agriculture). Project team members Ivana Mikolić, Bruno Marić, Antun Ivanović, Matko Orsag and Marsela Polić explained in a nutshell the objectives of the project and its scientific, technical and implementational aspects.

- Robotic systems can help small farms with farmland that is difficult for a family to cultivate. One of agricultural critical issues is lack of workforce, young people interested in agriculture. Robotics is a lifeline for our economy, said Project Coordinator Dr. Matko Orsag.

You can read the article (in Croatian) here.

Author: Ana Golec
Great success of the ROBOWEEK...

ROBOWEEK activites have been successfully finalized – Sunday (Dec 15, 19) ROBOBAND concert at KSET; Wednesday (Dec 18, 19) lecture "Real-World Robotics: From Swarms to Entrepreneurship" held by Prof. Daniel Lofaro (University of George Mason) and Prof. Neil Dantam (Colorado School of Mines); ROBOTIC FOOD COURT and ROBOFUN interactive workshops on Thursday (Dec 19, 19). Supported by the U. S. Embassy Zagreb, these events served to popularize robotics and spread holiday cheer, all for a good cause. The raised donations will be given to the Association for improving the quality of life of poor and neglected children "Mali zmaj"

Check out photos in the Gallery.

Author: Ana Golec
Robotic Charity Event at FER

This year LARICS team members are organizing again a robotic charity event, together with KSET and professors from the University George Mason (USA), with the goal to raise funds for the Association for improving the quality of life of poor and neglected children “Mali zmaj”. All the planned activities are taking place between December 15 and 19, 2019 at KSET and in the Faculty’s lobby. The programme of the ROBOWEEK is the following:

  • on Sunday, December 15, 2019, from 8 to 11 p.m., on KSET’s stage, the visitors will have the opportunity to attend a unique performance of the ROBOBAND! Robots will be warming up the audience and spreading holiday cheer by playing different instruments, accompanied by FER’s professors and students;
  • on Monday, December 16, 2019, professors from the University George Mason (USA) will hold a lecture for FER’s graduate and postgraduate students, and a lecture for the general public to present their science popularization projects;
  • on Thursday, December 19, 2019, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., in FER’s lobby, at the ROBOTIC FOOD COURT, our well-known little robotic helpers Pepper, Franka and Baxter will be serving warm drinks and cookies, while primary and secondary school students will have a chance to attend interactive ROBOFUN workshops.

The co-organizers of the event, University of George Mason professors are planning to hold a similar event in April 2020 at their University.

We wholeheartedly invite you to join us in doing a good deed and spreading joy!

Author: Ana Golec
University of Zagreb Fair 2019

LARICS, LABUST and LAMOR did a great job representing UNIZG-FER at the University of Zagreb Fair 2019 held between November 21 and 23, 2019 at the Student Centre Zagreb, and at the Open Door Day at FER on Saturday, November 23, 2019. Future students and visitors had the opportunity to talk to the members of our laboratories, check the equipment, interact with Pepper, compete against Baxter in solving a Rubik’s cube, and try out navigating the autonomous surface platform H20mniX in an indoor pool! The visitors were also able to learn about the laboratories’ current projects, activities, and prospects of studying at FER.

Author: Ana Golec
Stjepan Bogdan and Ivana Mikolić at...

AeRoTwin Coordinators prof. Stjepan Bogdan and Ivana Mikolić participated at the national Horizon 2020 Info Day on Spreading excellence and widening participation programme on 24th October 2019. Stjepan presented Twinning project AeRoTwin as an example of excellent written proposal and implemented project.

Stjepan and Ivana then participated in a Q&A session with representatives from other faculties and institutes in order to share their knowledge and experience and increase proposal submission from Croatia.

Author: webadmin
ICL live drone demonstration at the...

ICL team held a live drone demonstration at the Great Exhibition Road Festival held from 28th to 30th June 2019 at the ICL premises in London, UK.

The Great Exhibition Road Festival is a new three-day celebration of curiosity, discovery and exploration in South Kensington. The Festival is a collaboration between 19 cultural institutions including Imperial College London, the Natural History Museum, the Science Museum, the V&A and the Royal Albert Hall.

Join us for a weekend that brings together science and the arts in a unique programme of creative workshops, talks, exhibitions and performances - all in the spirit of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert’s vision for the Great Exhibition, 200 years on from when they were born.

The event was coordinated by the team behind Imperial’s own Festival, which attracted over 20,000 members of the public for its seventh iteration in 2018.

Author: Ana Golec
ICL displayed their drone at the AI...

ICL displayed drone at the AI summit which is the world’s largest AI event for business.

AI was held from 12th to 13th June 2019 in London, UK, and was visited by more than 20000+ visitors from academia, industry but also general audience.

Author: Ana Golec
ICL drone display and live...

ICL participated in Royal Society Summer Science  Exhibition with drone display and live demonstration. Exhibition was held in London, UK, from 1st to 7th of June 2019.

It is a week-long festival celebrating the cutting edge of UK science. With a packed programme of thought-provoking talks, jaw-dropping demonstrations and entertaining performances alongside 22 exhibits of hands-on science and technology, there was something for all ages.

Author: Ana Golec
Visit of Danish IT Delegation

A high-level delegation of Danish top IT managers and experts visited FER with the aim to get acquainted with the results of ICT-related research projects at FER. Prof. Zdenko Kovačić, in cooperation with prof. Stjepan Bogdan, prof. Jan Šnajder, prof. Mario Vašak, prof. Ivana Podnar-Žarko, prof. Mario Kušek, prof. Siniša Šegvić, and Ivan Krešo, held a workshop that was highly regarded and appreciated by the esteemed guests.

Author: Ana Golec
A successful first edition of DroneDays

The first edition of the two-day end-user aerial vehicles workshop DroneDays, held at the University of Zagreb Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing in Zagreb, Croatia, on 26 and 27 March 2019, was a great success and exceeded all expectations. Over 200 participants listened to 17 lectures by aerial robotics experts from 7 countries, there were 9 demonstrations in the flying zone, and some 2000 visitors came to the company expo to learn about aerial vehicles and their applications. DroneDays was organized by AeRoTwin partner UNIZG-FER and LARICS as part of the EU H2020 project AeRoTwin. Read more about the exciting event in the detailed news.

Author: Anamarija Miličević
European Robotics Forum 2019

Members of the AeRoTwin project team went to Bucharest, Romania, from 19 to 24 March, to take part in the European Robotics Forum 2019. There they attended lectures and workshops, presented their work and some of the robots they work on, and brought their work closer to the public and the robotics community. Project team members who went to ERF2019 representing their institutions and AeRoTwin are the following: Mirko Kovac (Imperial College London), Anibal Ollero (University of Seville), Zdenko Kovačić, Matko Orsag, Ivana Mikolić, Antun Ivanović, Barbara Arbanas and Bruno Marić (UNIZG-FER LARICS). The event's programme can be found here.

Author: Anamarija Miličević
LARICS' Ivana Mikolić at the...

AeRoTwin team member LARICS' project manager Ivana Mikolić went on 29th March 2019 to the LEAP Summit in Zagreb, Croatia, where she held a lecture at the EU & ME Stage titled "Increasing robotics research excellence with the EU". Ivana talked about her experiences in managing EU and Croatian projects, why they are important and how they can be used to advance our scientific and technological potential. Ivana also gave some recent examples of LARICS projects, such as AeRoTwin and DroneDays, to show how EU funding can successfully be applied in the context of robotics in Croatia and the EU.

Author: Anamarija Miličević
LARICS and DroneDays on Croatian...

LARICS team member asst. prof. Matko Orsag appeared on 7th March 2019 as a guest speaker for the Croatian National Television's show Dobar Dan, Hrvatska ("Good Day, Croatia") to talk about technological advancements in robotics, particularly aerial robotics, and to introduce the public to the upcoming two-day end-user workshop on aerial robotics, DroneDays, which is organized by the laboratory as part of the project AeRoTwin. The show also featured a segment on the laboratory and what LARICS members do for this field of technology. Prof. Pero Škorput from the Faculty of Transport and Traffic Sciences, who will appear at DroneDays as an invited lecturer, was also a guest in the show to talk about the future of traffic and transport. The whole show can be seen via the HRTi service (in Croatian; registration is necessary).

Author: Anamarija Miličević
Helping overcome the barriers of autism

On December 29, LARICS and AeRoTwin team members Matko Orsag and Frano Petric took one of the Laboratory's NAO robots to the Advent in Maksimir, where they participated in an art workshop titled "Overcoming the barriers of autism - together", organized by the Autism Association Zagreb. During the workshop, visitors had the opportunity to meet members of the Association, learn about their activities and take a look at the crafts they exhibited, as well as to get to know the NAO robot and learn about its role in diagnosing autism. Read some more about the event here (in Croatian) and take a look at some of the Association's photos here. This activity was in part sponsored by the AeRoTwin project.

Author: Anamarija Miličević
A fund-raising event held by LARICS

On Wednesday, 19th December, the LARICS team held a fund-raising event for the Autism Association Zagreb, where the robots from their Laboratory worked together to serve visitors with chocolate waffles, brownies and tea or mulled wine. This innovative event was visited by over 2000 people and some 700 orders were taken and served, which resulted in a wonderful amount of over 13 thousand kuna (almost €2000) in donations, all of which will be given to the Autism Association Zagreb.

Author: Anamarija Miličević
AeRoTwin at "Spreading...

The AeRoTwin project will be presented at the "Spreading Excellence and Widening Participation. Pasado, Presente y Futuro" event organized by the Spanish Ministry of Science with the participation of the European Commission. The event will be held on 10 December 2018 in Seville and project team member Silvia de los Santos from CTA will present the audience and general public with AeRoTwin as an example of a successful project proposal and implementation.

Author: Ana Golec
A successful European Robotics Week...

For this year's European Robotics Week, LARICS participated in two events in Zagreb - the University of Zagreb Fair (22nd to 24th November) and University of Zagreb Faculty of Electrical Engineering Open Day (24th November) with the brand robotics@fer.hr and together with two more robotics laboratories from the faculty - LABUST and LAMOR. Both the events were very successful!

Author: Anamarija Miličević
LARICS members on Croatian national...

On November 15, 2018, LARICS members Matko Orsag and Ivana Mikolić took part in the daily tv programme "Dobro jutro, Hrvatska" (Good morning, Croatia, Croatian Radiotelevision) as guests, where they talked about the European Robotics Week 2018 and how it will be manifested in Croatia. Matko is the National Coordinator for the Robotics Week and together with Ivana, his assistant for this event and LARICS project coordinator and manager, they talked about the events organized in Croatia.

Author: Anamarija Miličević