ATHENA Research Book, Volume 2

ATHENA European University is an association of nine higher education institutions with the mission of promoting excellence in research and innovation by enabling international cooperation. The acronym ATHENA stands for Association of Advanced Technologies in Higher Education. Partner institutions are from France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Lithuania, Portugal and Slovenia: University of Orléans, University of Siegen, Hellenic Mediterranean University, Niccolò Cusano University, Vilnius Gediminas Technical University, Polytechnic Institute of Porto and University of Maribor. In 2022, two institutions joined the alliance: the Maria Curie-Skłodowska University from Poland and the University of Vigo from Spain. Also in 2022, an institution from Austria joined the alliance as an associate member: Carinthia University of Applied Sciences. This research book presents a selection of the research activities of ATHENA University's partners. It contains an overview of the research activities of individual members, a selection of the most important bibliographic works of members, peer-reviewed student theses, a descriptive list of ATHENA lectures and reports from individual working sections of the ATHENA project. The ATHENA Research Book provides a platform that encourages collaborative and interdisciplinary research projects by advanced and early career researchers

Robot e cobot nell’impresa e nella scuola

The book deals with the transversal theme of hymn-technological development through robots and cobots, the introduction of which crosses now business, scholastic and educational contexts. Starting from an introduction aimed at questioning what is meant from for innovation and what could be the minimum conditions for it we can actually speak of innovative contexts, the volume takes the distances from techno-enthusiastic or techno-critical approaches assumed a priori and suggested manages a departure from a win win perspective at any cost which does not properly reflect on some crucial issues in supporting the innovative processes, including the training of workers (in primis), the legal perspectives, as well as the needs in the terms of new tools to ensure the management of health and safety at work. The volume continues by addressing the potential of collaborative robots in helping people to carry out more or less complex tasks, ibid including learning; therefore, some uses of robotics are presented in educational contexts of school or higher education where robotics could be used as a tool to support people with autism, contrast bullying phenomena, help develop skills transversal and space-time trends, also through the use of the so-called swarm robotics. Despite the difference of languages and specific perspectives that distinguish the different chapters, the volume is oriented to a reader curious and aware that business, school and university can play the their game in synergy, learning to listen to each other and to reflect more frequently-mind about the challenges that unite them