AI teachers and space robots: over 400 projects at Maker Faire Rome 2026

From the artificial teacher M.a.i.a., developed with a primary school class in Rome, to the sophisticated space robot Rosaia, developed by researchers at the Italian Institute of Technology and the Italian Space Agency: these are just two examples of the incredible variety of inventions on display at Maker Faire Rome 2026, the event where technology meets creativity, which opened today in Rome and runs until 25 October at the Gazometro Ostiense. There is no age limit on imagination, and the school pupils who have been attending the event for years know this all too well.

A total of 26 schools from across Italy are taking part in the 2026 edition. Among them is the IIS Carafa-Giustiniani in Cerreto Sannita (Benevento), where Bee-watch was developed – an autonomous, non-invasive system for monitoring bee activity in hives. At the Einstein High School in Molfetta (Bari), Iris has been developed – a humanoid robot designed to facilitate social interactions for those with autism spectrum disorders. Some projects are developed over a number of years, such as Maia (an acronym for ‘Artificial Teacher for Inclusive Learning’), which builds on the work presented in 2025 with Chiocciolina and stems from a collaboration between Officine Robotiche and the Fratelli Cervi primary school in Rome.

Maia is a virtual assistant for teachers, trained to help satisfy pupils’ curiosity in an empathetic and controlled manner. Alongside schools, numerous research organisations and universities are now regular fixtures at Maker Faire. The IIT, for example, is showcasing robots for workplace safety, those for medical rehabilitation such as XoTrunk, and the innovative Rosaia, a robot with four 75-centimetre-long arms designed to work in space, either to intervene on out-of-control satellites or to collect and divert space debris that endangers many satellites. Harmonic V is the system developed at the University of Rome Tor Vergata to support professional athletes by combining the analysis of physiological data with that of movement, whilst the National Research Council has unveiled a machine for extracting water from the air, created using a 3D printer.

There were also numerous companies present at the Maker Faire, and a selection of the finest innovations developed in recent years by Italian craft businesses comes from AvantCraft, an exhibition curated by the economist Stefano Micelli, which features a carbon-fibre sports car designed using a simulator and hand-assembled to achieve peak performance; a bespoke, hand-built titanium bicycle welded in a vacuum chamber using argon gas; scrap from Murano’s furnaces, repurposed to create 3D-printed glass artworks, and a tactile table that brings its wooden animals to life via a smartphone.

Finally, the big new feature this year is the Main Stage, a stage at the heart of the fair where makers, institutions and creative professionals will take turns to discuss the transformations currently taking place. Among them are Giorgio Metta, scientific director of the IIT; journalist Silvia Bencivelli, speaking on the dangers of fake news; Marco Crescenti, author of the book *Non Umana*; and Arturo Di Corinto, discussing cybersecurity and hybrid warfare.