August 11, 2022 – Croatia is a land of many joys. Its young minds should certainly take the top of the list to be celebrated. This time, the first Croatian humanoid robot can even tell you that.

A student of the Technical Faculty in Rijeka, Karlo Džafić, presented his work at HRT. “The robot's name is Timmy Hartera. It all started in 2019 when I wanted to do robotics and I 'googled' the InMoov site, designed as a platform for everyone who wants to do robotics and do something like I did”, said Karlo.

The robot was made using two 3D printers, while plastic and a lot of electronics were used as materials.

“I got most of it online from abroad, and it all took two and a half years. The robot has over 400 parts - it even has ears, eyes that are two web cameras, and different sensors to be as human-like as possible and behave like it. I did everything completely by myself – from financing to production”, he says, adding that he decided to take on this venture to test his limits.

“Robotics includes more areas than mechanics, electronics, and programming – and all three technical areas interest me, so why not”, he concluded.

In autumn, Karlo plans to make an updated version of his robot, and in the spring, maybe record a podcast where the robot will speak Croatian, so that, says Karlo, the experience would be even greater.

The robot is now under 'repair'.

“Now I want to analyse things and improve what can be improved”, said Karlo.

Scientific associate at the Technical Faculty in Rijeka, Ph.D. Ivan Lorencin supports Karlo in his venture and points out that students like Karlo are a motivation for the scientific department of the faculty to continue their work in science and higher education.

“Such projects are our motive for establishing the Ri-STEM conference, which is being held for the second year in a row, and where Timmy Hartera, the robot was presented to the public for the first time. Such projects provide our students and potential future scientists with a springboard for further careers”, explains Lorencin.

The research group for artificial intelligence and robotics of the Technical Faculty plans to open a STEM center in Medulin soon, through which Karlo, as well as other future young experts and scientists, will be able to receive certain financial support for the development of their projects.

For more, make sure to check out our dedicated Made in Croatia section.

As Novac/Nikola Patkovic writes on the 3rd of June, 2019, although they've only just stepped out into the often confusing teenage world, they already have virtually defined their life goals. In their case, it's easy to talk about a group of very young girls who are offering the world an outstanding picture of Croatia.

These youngsters from Osijek, sisters Jona and Nika Važić, Helena Floreani and Klara Uranjek, are students from Osijek who are working alongside their counterparts from Đakovo, Iva Mijakić, Ana Švegli and Marina Ćurković. At first glance, the group look no different to your typical group of young girls, who don't appear to differ remotely from their peers. However, if you dig just a little below the surface, surprising and impressive details of the lives of these girls who, when leading by their own example, could be models and a stimulus not only to their peers but also to numerous adults across the country who would prefer to do little else but complain.

Apart from the fact that they are all excellent students with an average of 5.0, all of these young girls have a whole host of additional interests and activities. Volleyball, dance, acting, athletics, gymnastics... these are just some of them. However, the reason they're so interesting lies in what connects them all, namely, programming and robotics.

Jona, Helena, Nika, Klara, Iva, Ana and Marina are the cream of the crop of Croatian programmers and roboticists in the competition of students from the sixth to the eighth grade in elementary school, which has recently been confirmed at the Croatian Super League finalists of the Croatian Makers League organised by Nenad Bakić, who has been the founder and the biggest populariser and developer of STEM area development in Croatian primary schools for a few years now.

After they were declared the best in Croatia last year, Osijek locals Helena, Nika and Klara came to Zagreb last weekend for a competition consisting of 40 teams and around 150 contestants under the guidance of Tomislav Pandurić, where they took home the title of vice-champion, while their friends from  Đakovo, Iva, Ana and Marina, brought the bronze home.

This time, gold went to boys from Križevci, but the girls still went home more than proud of their acheivements.

''Although we didn't manage to defend the title, of course we were satisfied, especially since the competition had also advanced, so it wasn't easy to get such a good result. In addition, the task we had was very difficult, so our success meant more. To be the second in the competition of 40 teams from all over Croatia is a big thing and we're very happy with our performance,'' the youngsters from Osijek are all in agreement and happy with the results.

Their friends from Đakovo also said that they had been expecting a high ranking.

''Because we've been at the top of Croatia for years, as we've now confirmed. However, we had some minor problems and half an hour before the end of the program we realised that we'd be unsuccessful, but in the end, we still managed to get through and we did a good job,'' said the students from Đakovo.

This time, the topic at hand was ecology. All of the teams had the task of programming robots so that they could perform tasks such as waste sorting, as well as hold mutual communication between two robots.

They say it was difficult and a tense experience. They only spent about three hours programming, during which they were left entirely alone and with their knowledge, and mentors could no longer offer any help.

Their task was to program mBoot to pass through a tunnel that changes its lighting level, so the timely detection of that change with the help of a sensor has to be taken into account, not to mention the robot's ability to continue going down its path without hitting the tunnel walls. After that, the robot had to detect the colour of a certain card, each of which meant a different type of waste, and after detecting it, he had to find a cube of the same colour and move it to the place foreseen for that kind of waste. Then, he should send a message to another robot, who should return to the start of the road on the same route. From the results, it's obvious that the girls did their job very well.

When their teacher was asked why this segment is full of girls, and where all the boys are, the teacher laughed and smiled at the successfull girls from Slavonia and said that the girls drive them off when they start talking.

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Click here for the original article by Nikola Patkovic for Novac/Jutarnji

Mirko Kovač, a Swiss scientist and roboticist discusses the situation and the possibilities of developing robotics and this type of technology in the Republic of Croatia.

As Goran Jungvirth/Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 28th of March, 2019, at the international DroneDays conference, which was held this week for the first time at the Zagreb Faculty of Electronics and Computing (FER), Poslovni Dnevnik spoke with Swiss scientist Dr Mirko Kovač, head of the Air Robotics Laboratory at London's Imperial College, as well as the newly established Swiss Robotic Centre for Materials and Technology.

This centre was created in conjunction with the London Laboratory, which Kovač also included in collaboration with FER's Robotics and Intelligent Management Systems (LARICS). Due to this co-operation that has been going on for several years, the Zagreb and London labs have received (EU Obzor 2020) the AeRo Twin project (Twinning co-ordination action for spreading excellence in Aerial Robotics).

How did this important co-operation happen?

I met Croatian robot-makers from FER about five years ago when I had a lecture in Dubrovnik. They're working on some good projects, interesting ones. They're part of a robotics society, a global community. Together we applied and received the European project AeRo Twin (Twinning co-ordination action for spreading excellence in Aerial Robotics).

What will that project enable?

The project aims to convey the knowledge of various groups in Europe. It's actually networking with leading robot scientists to share their knowledge and experience on flying robots and in that way, reach the top of the world's robotics. Within the project, various lectures will be organised as well as the exchange of scientists. I can hardly wait for the roboticists from Croatia to come to London to see what can be done in Zagreb. There will be plenty of practical work, not just theory. I'm very happy to cooperate with Croatian scientists and to keep track of what's happening in robotics in Croatia.

Why is Croatia so dear to you?

Well, I feel close to Croatia. My parents come from Croatia, I have many relatives there, so it's not just about the scientific dimension and interest, but also about the culture of the country that attracts me and the feelings I have for Croatian people. It's nice to be here, to come to where my parents come from and communicate with people whose mentality I like very much.

The Swiss have just built a Robotics Centre within the Federal Laboratory for Materials Science and Technology because of you. What's going on there?

I'm glad that such a research centre has been set up with the aim of [undertaking] the futuristic research of flying robots to work in the buildings of the future. Here, we look at the symbiosis of such robots with people living in a certain space, to develop the robustness of the robots and materials that will increase their functionality and reduce any danger for people. The London lab provides knowledge of robotics, and the Swiss centre, the knowledge of suitable materials.

You haven't forgotten Croatia either, and the mentioned Aerial Robotics project - AeRo Twin opens up opportunities for the development of modern robotics in Croatia...

Yes, the project coordinators are prof. dr. sc. Stjepan Bogdan and Mag. ing. Ivana Mikolić. It's an important project for the future of robotics in Croatia, because, as I've already mentioned, it will enable the exchange of knowledge on flying robots and the mutual practical cooperation on the development of technology.

Is there any potential for developing a robotics centre in Croatia?

Of course there's potential. I think that will be more and more important for Croatia, how digitisation and robotics are being developed, and the strategies for its implementation. Robotics are the essence of this, and will become even more important in the development of artificial intelligence. Robotics can help everyone, and I think that there's great potential for this as far as Croatia is concerned.

When you say potential, do you mean human potential?

Yes, for example, FER has some very good students and has great potential to become a contemporary partner with other science centres in Europe. I'm mostly thinking of human and scientific potential, but there is also the [potential] of the country itself. Projects are growing in the EU and the situation for robotics is gaining traction. But infrastructure is still developing and that's where the chance for Croatia lies. Because Croatia has the sea, there is an opportunity for testing underwater robotics in various economic activities. It has a variety of nature and different terrain, a variety of topologies that can help develop robotic applications. Croatia has a lot of potential.

You were a robotics researcher at the world's most powerful universities, such as Harvard and Berkeley, while you got your doctorate at the Swiss Institute in Lausanne. How hard is it today to educate a robotics scientist, since everything is developing so quickly? You've been talking at Drone Days about the third wave of robotics in the economy. How does one track those standards and reach the top?

You need to be world-oriented for robotics. Yes, it's hard to keep track of it all because it involves the need to know about interdisciplinary science when it comes to robotics. There are many different concepts. Control engineering, algorithms for audiovisual processing, design, mechanics, material science, biology... all of these parts are very demanding even for themselves and it's very difficult to understand them in detail. Scientific collaboration is therefore very important for the development of robotics, because robotics integrates all of that knowledge.

So, a scientist in robotics must develop independently and specialise in certain knowledge, and then collaborate in teams with colleagues from other scientific disciplines?

Yes, that's a multidisciplinary area and collaboration is very important. Robotics is, by its very nature, collaborative, different teams perform different experiments, and then they share their results. That's why the aforementioned European project is important for Croatian robotics as FER scientists will be exchanged in London where they will collaborate with different teams.

How is your new Swiss NEST project progressing?

We're developing our team, it's essential to have cooperation and partnership with other groups from around the world. The biggest challenge is to find solutions for the integration of new materials. The materials are very important. We have a lot to do with the design of flying robots and the development of new autonomous concepts.

Since you live and work in London, what's your comment on Brexit? Will it complicate the co-operation you emphasise as crucial for robotics development for scientists?

There's a fear in the community that Britain will find it very difficult to handle Brexit. Science will suffer for this. The consequences are already apparent, but it's a relief that the top scientists are independent. All the partnerships I've been involved in are independent. British scientists will have to fight to remain involved in EU projects, not to stay isolated. This is a very dangerous situation, but it's good that Britain is investing heavily in the development of science and technology, such as robotics, digitisation and artificial intelligence. There are a lot of possibilities in the UK, but we will have to work hard to keep hold of the UK's cooperation with the rest of Europe.

Are you talking to Croatian scientists about the problems they face in Croatia?

Yes, we're talking...

And what do they complain the most about, what's the most problematic thing for the development of science and technology in Croatia?

I don't have a great deal to say about that, you'll have to ask them. I don't work here, so I don't have any of my own experiences on it.

What's the most important thing in your eyes for the future of robotics?

Multidisciplinarity is the most important thing. One can not think of just one area, but rather how to integrate various aspects of science and apply them to robotics. For example, for the development of my robot grasshopper - with which I earned my doctorate - I needed knowledge from biology and biomechanics. For robotics, everything is important and there's a lot of potential for all other branches of science to contribute to it. Robotics will become very important for the lives of all people.

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Click here for the original article/interview by Goran Jungvirth for Poslovni Dnevnik