A hundred years ago, the word "robot" conquered the world. Now, robots will rule over the EXPO in Dubai

28. 10. 2021

100 years ago, the word "robot" was uttered on the stage of the National Theatre in Prague for the first time. It was given to the world by the Čapek brothers - Josef invented it, then Karel incorporated it into the play "R.U.R.". From there, this timeless expression spread very quickly around the globe. Today it is a universal word whose meaning is understood by the whole world. And the robot motif is one of the main themes representing the Czech Republic at the EXPO 2020 world exhibition in Dubai.

The duel of the last human on Earth with robotic technology that is taking over the world - the "Robot Radius" play will be introduced at the Dubai Exhibition Centre on October 28 by the "Nová scéna" of the Laterna Magika National Theatre. Laterna Magika returns to the EXPO world exhibition after 50 years. "Laterna Magika was founded to show the world a multimedia theatre at EXPO 58 in Brussels, and was completely unique at the time. Now we come back with a technologically visionary work inspired by the play "R.U.R" by Karel Čapek. Through our play, we want to draw attention to troubling topics of our times - climate change, the development of artificial intelligence, and ethical issues regarding genetic engineering. All this is supported by state-of-the-art stage technology - in this case, real-time motion capture, which allows us - the performers utilizing both motion and music - to control events on the screen in real-time," explains the Chief Director of Art at Laterna Magika, Mr Radim Vizváry, who is also the main performer of Robot Radius. "In addition, through pantomime, our performance becomes a means of communication, since movement is a language we all understand. I am also very happy that Miřenka Čechová took the mantle of both director and screenwriter, while world-renowned composer Michal Pavlíček has created the basic element of the play - the music. He will also play live on stage for EXPO visitors. Come and see for yourself how one man's fight with robotic technology ends up," adds Vizvára.

The robot as a symbolic guardian of the Czech exposition and one of the dominants of the "Earth Plaza" can be found in front of the Czech pavilion itself in the form of a statue by Jaroslav Róna called "Victoria Robotorum" (the Victory of Robots). It is a sculpture created from a single granite monolith, which was mined for this purpose in 2017 from the Ruprechtice quarry near Liberec. "The statue was created as a bitterly sarcastic monument to the victory of technology over Man, represented, among other things, by the skull of the last man held victoriously by the robot. It is intended to serve as a warning to the human race against self-destruction and, at the same time, to commemorate the archaeological monuments of already extinct civilizations. This monument is the result of four years of my work. From the original 33-ton granite monolith, a statue almost 6 metres high and weighing more than 16 tons was created," explains the author of the stone sculpture, Jaroslav Róna. The whole project includes the demanding eight-week voyage of the Victoria Robotorum sculpture from Prague to the Expo in Dubai, which was proposed and executed by producer Marek Vocel and was made possible thanks to support from the PPF Foundation.

The seminar "AI, ROBOT", which is organized by the Czech pavilion at EXPO on October 28 from 4 pm as part of the regular Technology Thursdays, will also focus on robots along with the topic of artificial intelligence. "The seminar, also available online, will present the most interesting and advanced projects of our partners at the EXPO in Dubai. PSI's robotic line, which is capable of decoding phenotypes and, therefore, the ability of plants to respond and utilize both light and sound; a visionary project by Prusa Research's fully automated 3D printing farm; the latest generation of Multi-robot Systém Group aircraft robots that can cooperate (CTU in Prague); the artificial intelligence of the Prague Innovation Institute, which has the potential to control not only individual machines, but the entire metropolis," adds Jiří František Potužník, General Commissioner of the participation of Czech Republic at the World Expo.

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