ROCK at ‘Science is Wonderful’

Science is Wonderful! is a free exhibition which brings the world of science to the public. Representatives of Vilnius Gediminas Technical University participated with a mood measuring sensor stand of the ROCK project in Brussels in the exhibition earlier this year.

Through hands-on experiments, live demonstrations, face-to-face chats with researchers, Science is Wonderful! shows how science impacts our daily lives – fighting cancer, slowing down global warming, preventing hunger and drought, facilitating human life in space.  It is all part of the variety of activities schools, families and young people can discover at the this exhibitions.

„The event was beneficial for us. There was direct contact with children, other exhibitors, experts in our field, and representatives of the European Commission. Their emotional reaction and verbal responsiveness to the exhibited ROCK Video Analytics, questions, observations, and suggestions will significantly influence the future development of the System. The exhibition delivered an excellent platform for the ROCK Video Neuroanalytics across the EU to help improve end-to-end stakeholders’ experiences, optimize costs, and enhance operational efficiency“, – said VGTU professor Artūras Kaklauskas.

Science is Wonderful! is the good opportunity to encourage children’s interest in science. Kids as young as 6 can try hands-on experiments at the many installed stands with scientists who also tell them stories about their life as researchers.

„It was a very enriching experience, and children’s questions and comments were inspiring, in particular from secondary schools’ students, helping us to see how new technologies are perceived and used by the youngest generations. The direct contact with other and very heterogenous research projects was an excellent opportunity to learn and to evaluate possible synergies. Our booth has also received some visits from stakeholders, so also professional networking actions were undertaken“, – said a member of the ROCK group.

The strongest emotions of passers-by captured by sensors and special lamps in six locations of the Vilnius are evaluated and presented as a summary of the expression of happiness of Vilnius residents on the website https://api.vilnius.lt/happiness-index.

The neuroanalysis system created in the course of the ROCK project (Optimizing the Use of Cultural Heritage in Creative Cities of Knowledge) implemented under the HORIZON 2020 programme was perceived having the potential of becoming one of the most innovative tools for planning and assessing public spaces of the city in the future. Vilnius is currently testing the system and believes it may be used in many areas, such as quality assessments and measurements of public service providers.

Science is Wonderful! is organised with the first edition of the EU Research and Innovation Days.