www.gaslini.org

On Impact Day 2009, the Children’s Team decided to show people outside of IIT what is studied, designed and created every day in the Institute.

Because of this, preparing the event took longer than usual, but it was well worth it.

13:00 On a very hot July midday, four brave members of the TeRa Dept. (from left: Jesus, Alberto, Marina and Stefano) jump in a scorching Fiat Punto, ready to do whatever it takes to help.

15:00 Meeting with Dr. PierLuigi Bruschettini and Mrs. Nice Marchese, the President and the Coordinator of the “Gaslini Band Band” respectively, an organization which we’re visiting today to cheer up the children of the Nephrology and Orthopaedics wards at the Gaslini Paediatric Hospital of Genoa with some mobile robots.

15:15 We arrive in the games room of the Nephrology ward (photos aren’t allowed to protect the privacy of young patients). Our heroes assemble their equipment in record time, which is:

• Two teleguided rovers;
• A Wi-Fi Access point;
• Two laptops and two joypads to control the drones;
• A video projector, including a white screen used to project the images filmed by the rovers and amuse children and parents;
• Obstacles to make the circuit more exciting;

16:15 We move to the Orthopaedics ward, where the games room is so small that the circuit has to be assembled in the corridor among nurses and wheelchairs.

In Tele or Remote Robotics it is often not really possible to have a full view of the environment in which the robots work. It is often necessary to rely on the on board camera and the sensors feedback.
Here, patients are a bit older than in the Nephrology ward (they are between 12 and 14 years old). They are better at controlling the robots and the competition is even more exciting.
Salvatore from Messina is the winner. He promises to visit us in Morego once he’s been discharged. Salvatore advises other young drivers on the best driving techniques and he also gives us some tips on design problems of rovers. We treasure them.

17:30 We’re all exhausted.
We’ve been carrying the equipment in and out of the hospital and the rovers have had a lot of accidents, collisions, and they’ve toppled a few times. They were driven by children or even by their parents, who came up to the Competition Staff (us, in this case) asking subtly, “Can we have a go too?”

18.00 We are in the fully loaded Punto, ready to go to Morego and join the evening party.

Our thanks go to the Gaslini Band Band members (Lello, Giacomo and Chiara), who helped us to take care of the peppy drivers, to Dr. Pierluigi Bruschettini, our glorious supporter, and to Mrs. Nice Marchese, who admirably coordinates the Gaslini Band Band staff. See you next year!