With AI powered robots, a Lego miniature displaying sustainable solutions for ports, and a trusty team of volunteers, INESC-ID was present once again at the Técnico Open Day, which took place on 18 April and brought over 3300 visitors to the Alameda campus of Instituto Superior Técnico.

Saturday morning started off warm and quite peaceful for the usual busy atmosphere of the streets in Lisbon. Everywhere except, of course, around the campus. Bright and early, dozens of volunteers from the various departments and research units of Técnico gathered at Pavilhão Central and INESC-ID was no exception.

We had everything set up before 9 a.m, anticipating an early crowd of visitors eager to learn and see more of the science and technology displayed. Never mind the weekend mood; as the saying goes “the early bird gets the worm”, or in this case, “goes to Técnico Open Day”. Decked in our usual blue and green, the INESC-ID stand was proudly displayed along one of the gallery sides, with volunteers ready to show our activities:

“How to make ports more sustainable!”

During the course of the morning, our volunteers from Sustainable Power Systems (SPS), Guilherme Pereira, Miguel Velo and Manuel Neto, showed how the Shift2DC project is helping to make ports more sustainable, focusing on the electrification of Port of Funchal in Madeira. Unable to take the public to the port, they decided to bring the port to the Open Day through a Lego miniature of the site, which captivated many curious passersby. After lunch, Larissa Montefusco and Nicollas Nogueira took over the stand, continuing to showcase the direct-current solutions being implemented for more environmentally friendly and efficient ports.

“The EmoShow”

The adorable Elmo, our small, wide-eyed robot, returned with volunteers Inês Lobo and Ana Carrasco, from Artificial Intelligence for People and Society (AIPS) group, who put a smile on everyone’s faces…literally! Through the game “The EmoShow”, participants were challenged to mimic an emotion prompted by Elmo, who then judged the accuracy of the representation. Frowns for “angry”, wrinkled noses in “disgust”, and gasps of “surprise”, but the final emotion was always the same: an amused laugh from the participants, accompanied by our volunteers.

“Autonomous robots for emergency assistance”

Elmo wasn’t the only robot to make a comeback. The GO2 Robot Dog also made an appearance at our stand, surprising everyone who turned the corridor with its cheeky struts and friendly waves. People were drawn in by the novelty, but definitely stayed to know more about the CARMA project and what is being done to support emergency responders in emergency situations, explained by volunteers Bernardo Esteves and António Fernandes. Just like last year, GO2 conquered hearts and, this time, it was even interviewed by national television channel SIC!

“Mini Makers STEAM”

Besides the Science Fair, INESC-ID was also very well represented by Engenharia para Todos at the Science for Kids. In the very first stand of the exhibition area, volunteer students posed two challenges to the younger audience; how to put together small circuits, explaining how code protects secret information and to decode secret messages!

We had the pleasure of showcasing our projects to many different audiences throughout the day, from students eager to start their university degrees, to questioning parents and many children in the age of “why?”. By the evening the INESC-ID team said goodbye to the last participants, making their best display of “sadness” to Elmo, feeling accomplished after what was another success for INESC-ID’s outreach activities.

Técnico Open Day is the annual event when Instituto Superior Técnico opens its doors to students, professors, researchers, staff, student groups, departments, and associated institutes for a day of over a hundred activities for all ages. The programme includes a science fair displaying projects and research by the associated centres and institutes, talks and lectures with scientists and visits to laboratories.

 

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