Eni is gold sponsor of Maker Faire

(Agi) - Rome, Oct 9 - Eni is gold sponsor of the "Maker Faire -the European Edition" which will be held in Rome from 16 to 18October at the "Sapienza" University of Rome. Maker Faire is the world's biggest innovation event, theannual celebration of the "Maker Movement", an exhibitiondedicated to the whole family of makers and focusing oncreativity and inventiveness in the world of IT, robotics andautomation. On this occasion, the innovators of the thirdmillennium will display and present the projects they areworking on and share technological knowledge and skills relatedto the hi-tech world. The movement of makers is based on therecycling and sharing of results, as well as creativity andinnovation. Technological innovation is also fundamental forEni as it provides access to new energy resources, improvesextraction, increases efficiency and reduces environmentalimpact. Consequently, following the success of last year, Enireturns to the Maker Faire with a stand entitled "Innovationfor Energy" to present the latest results of technologicalinnovation by the "six-legged dog", with a focus on the issueof safety at work. Key features will be wearable technologies,the result of the MIT Energy Initiative's Safety++ project, acollaboration between Eni and MIT (Massachusetts Institute ofTechnology). Safety++ aims to improve the protective equipmentused in industry (fireproof clothing, protective shoes,carabiners or safety hooks), making it intelligent andinterconnected. Tested at Eni's Safety Competence Centre inGela, each wearable item allows a control room to collect datain real time about working environment conditions and thehealth of operators. The R & D upstream "Operator TrainingSystem" project, which also focuses on the subject of wearabledevices designed to increase safety at work, will be presentedfor the first time by Eni at the fair. The Operator TrainingSystem accurately simulates the behaviour of an industrialplant and makes it possible to interact and become familiarwith a range of operational and emergency scenarios thatconsiders the consequences of individual actions, "submerging"the user in a virtual world that faithfully replicates reality.The system can train operators on all day-to-day activities ata plant (navigation, safety inspections, maintenance) andallows the user to recognise equipment, instruments and valves,providing all the necessary information to conduct the plannedactivities in a simple and immediate way. Safety at work willalso be the subject of a competition in the form of aHackathon, organised by Eni for the first time at the MakerFaire at the "MACRO" Museum - Rome's Museum of ContemporaryArt. In a 32-hour marathon, from 10 to 11 October, makers fromaround the world will compete to create design solutions toimprove the safety of industrial workers. Eni will reward thewinning team with a five-day trip to Boston and a visit to MIT. An important space will also be dedicated to the issue ofrenewable energy, with the flagship projects of theEni-Donegani Research Centre for Non-conventional Energy,luminescent solar concentrators (LSC) and highly flexibleorganic photovoltaic panels (OPV). Both these technologies willbe presented in a number of practical applications by thestudents of Piu'Lab, the cutting-edge 3D-printing laboratory ofthe Milan Polytechnic. Eni's technological focus for thisedition will be completed by SAR (Automatic Supply System), amachine that can ensure fast and efficient refuelling, allowingdrivers to remain in their vehicle, increasing safety andreducing the waiting time by up to 30%. Maker Faire will also be an opportunity to talk about smartmobility. Enjoy, the event's official car sharing operator,will present to the Roman public the first scooter sharingsystem, in partnership with the Piaggio Group and Trenitalia,and already operating in Milan. (AGI). .