TEDxPadovaSalon in TheNicePlace

On Saturday 8 April, TheNicePlace opened its doors to the entire TEDxPadova community to provide a superb location for the second TEDxPadovaSalon. The event, entitled “I, Robot”, formed an introduction to TEDxPadova 2017, scheduled for 13 May at the Verdi Theatre. The courtyards of Palazzo del Bo will also be hosting Innovation Hall, a great exhibition of new ideas. Nice has chosen to support all these activities this year as Gold Partner.

Over 500 people visited TheNicePlace on Saturday to listen to talks by 4 expert speakers and to discuss the themes of innovation, home automation, robotics, and Industry 4.0. The event was introduced by President Lauro Buoro: "My team and I are delighted to support this initiative. The themes we shall be discussing here today are key to progress in Home Automation and our future way of life. We love discussions at Nice, especially when we can talk directly to young people. We have even created a special place - open and informal just like ThePlace - for getting together, meeting people, exchanging ideas and experiences and interacting with all communities." Carlo Pasqualetto, the organiser of TEDxPadova, emphasised the point: "We could not have hoped for a better location than this. I would like to thank Nice sincerely for having provided such a great location and for their support for TEDxPadova."

The first speaker to take the podium was Emanuele Quarin, Digital Transformation Director of Electrolux. At the end of his speech Quarin made an appeal to the various companies who were present: "Digital Transformation is a technological lever capable of exponentially boosting your organisation. It is essential to cultivate digital awareness in your organisation. Get involved in the world of start-ups, promote the growth of an environment that encourages trying, taking risks and even failing, and learn to see failure as an opportunity rather than a fault."

The microphone then passed to Daniele Pucci, a researcher at the Italian Institute of Technology, who focused on the theme of locomotion in humanoid robots. "We don't realise it, but we actually walk by falling forwards. Walking is all a question of balance. We also have to interact with the world around us, of course. This is true of robots as well as humans. The challenge is to replicate these movements. We still have a long way to go but the journey is a fascinating one. I can think of diving robots, and hybrid robots with wheels instead of legs. At some stage in the future, robots will even be able to fly."

The third speaker was the internationally famous architect, Carla Picardi, who contributed to the striking design of the Gherkin skyscraper and Canary Wharf in London. Her fascinating talk was built around the question “Do you believe you create your reality?”. "Everything we believe in is actually real. Belief can be transformed into energy and creativity. And I'm not talking philosophy here, but physics. Everything is a question of energy. If you want to follow a road and decide to do it, don't look back. […] Use your energy to change reality".

Finally, Alberto Giovanni Gerli, founder and CEO of Arianna S.p.A., spoke on the subject of light, technology and smart cities, finishing with a challenge: "There's no such thing as objectively perfect light, just subjectively preferred light. […] If we could connect cell-phone repeaters to light units, they could serve as signal repeaters capable of personalising light to meet the needs and preferences of the individual. To achieve this we need an alliance between companies in the fields of telephony, lighting and research. Working together and with the common objective of improving the quality of the offer. Because light is life. Because we are light".