Maker Faire Rome 2026 to showcase humanoid football and 400 exhibits

Maker Faire Rome returns to the Gazometro Ostiense in Rome from 23 to 25 October with more than 400 exhibits, humanoid robot soccer, AI and hands-on learning. The 14th edition adds new strands in craft, agrifood, safety tech and science outreach, with schools, universities and research groups taking part.

Why it matters: - Maker Faire Rome 2026 is set to turn Rome into a major public showcase for robotics, AI, agrifood and advanced making. - The event mixes research, education and industry in one place, giving visitors direct access to working prototypes and the teams behind them. - The program includes school and university projects, which expands the event beyond a trade show into a broader talent and innovation platform.

What happened: - Maker Faire Rome – The European Edition returns for its 14th edition from 23 to 25 October 2026 at Rome’s Gazometro Ostiense. - More than 400 exhibition stands will fill the venue. - The Rome Chamber of Commerce promotes and organizes the event through its special agency Innova Camera. - This year, 26 secondary schools and 27 universities and research centres are participating. - Those schools and research institutions are bringing 145 projects. - Visitors will be able to test technologies, see working prototypes, join workshops and speak directly with project teams.

The details: - The program covers robotics, artificial intelligence, digital manufacturing, circular economy, agrifood, aerospace, design and education. - Italy will host its first International Italian Open RoboCup Humanoid Soccer tournament at Maker Faire Rome 2026. - University and research teams will compete with five humanoid robots on each side. - The robots will play autonomously, reading the pitch and making decisions without human control. - SPQR from Sapienza University of Rome reached the final of the World Humanoid Robot Games in Beijing in August and was the only non-Chinese team still competing during the final three days. - I-RIM 3D 2026, the eighth conference organized by the Institute of Robotics and Intelligent Machines, will run alongside the robotics program. - The new I-RIM 3D DEMO program will put research systems in front of the public. - RoboPitch will give selected start-ups and research groups a chance to present robotics proof-of-concept projects to investors and universities. - AvantCraft, new for 2026, explores how Italian craftsmanship is changing as digital fabrication, robotics and AI enter workshops and production. - Stefano Micelli of Ca’ Foscari University of Venice curated AvantCraft, and Upskill 4.0 organized it. - The exhibition includes high-performance cars, titanium bicycles, 3D-printed ceramics, hand-set titanium jewellery, large-scale embroidery and materials made from waste. - The Dallara Stradale will be on display from a production process where advanced composite engineering sits alongside manual assembly and specialist technical knowledge. - Inail and the Italian Institute of Technology will present workplace-safety research including wearable devices, robotics and training systems. - The SIDE haptic exoskeleton, developed by Inail and Sapienza University of Rome, recreates forces and physical interactions in virtual or augmented environments for hazardous-situation training. - IIT and Inail will also show XoTrunk and FleXoTrunk, wearable prototypes designed to support the lower back during manual handling. - A wearable airbag system will also be shown; it can detect a fall and deploy within milliseconds. - Agrifood research at the event brings together CREA, ENEA, CNR, Sapienza University of Rome, Value Groovers and the CMCC Euro-Mediterranean Center on Climate Change. - CREA will present work on food design, micromalting and 3D food printing. - ENEA will explore food production in extreme environments, including technologies relevant to agriculture in space, cellular agriculture and plant biotechnology. - CNR’s FoodEye uses spectroscopy to analyse nutritional characteristics, geographical origin and possible contamination or counterfeiting. - Terravionics combines IoT, Earth observation data and algorithmic analysis to support proactive tree management. - Yeastime uses ultrasound technology for fermentation with the goal of reducing process times and energy use. - A DeLorean DMC-12 from the Enter Technikwelt Solothurn museum in Switzerland will also appear at the event. - The car was designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro and made famous by Back to the Future. - Sapienza Corse will bring Gajarda AWD Hybrid Driverless, a Formula Student racing car that can recognize the course and drive without anyone at the wheel. - A 17-year-old Italian maker will present a neural headset that turns body signals into commands and a 3D-printed bionic hand controlled through computer vision or electromyographic signals. - Robby Minichef is a prototype robot that learns from a chef and can reproduce the actions and timings needed to prepare dishes including spaghetti cacio e pepe. - Books@MFR26 adds a science, technology and social change strand. - Visitors will be invited to bring a favorite science, innovation or technology book and explain in two minutes why someone else should read it. - Books left at the event will become part of a shared BiblioMaker collection. - The Educational and Gaming area will include coding, Minecraft Education, robot battles, circuit printing, augmented reality, driving simulation, space-related activities and live chemistry demonstrations. - Eni returns as Main Partner for the thirteenth consecutive year. - In the year marking the centenary of Agip, Eni will present Pioneers to Makers, an interactive space using installations, games, projections and virtual reality. - Eni will also show the Eni2050 Lab, which covers research on biofuels, CO₂ capture and storage, renewable energy and energy storage. - Regione Lazio, Lazio Innova, Roma Capitale and the Italian Trade Agency will also take part. - Those institutions will support start-ups, small and medium-sized enterprises, emerging technologies and international participation. - Tickets are available exclusively online at makerfairerome.eu. - Additional activities will take place at the Istituto Superiore Antincendi. - Maker Faire Rome is produced with the collaboration and support of Regione Lazio and Lazio Innova. - Eni is Main Partner, and Arduino, DigiKey, MAIRE, STMicroelectronics and Unidata are Gold Partners.

Between the lines: - Maker Faire Rome is positioning itself less as a consumer expo and more as a live demonstration space for technologies that are close to real-world use. - The mix of humanoid soccer, safety tech, food systems and craft suggests an effort to make innovation visible, playful and accessible to a broad public. - The event also gives startups, schools and universities a shared stage, which can help emerging projects gain attention from investors, institutions and future collaborators.

What's next: - The event will run in Rome from 23 to 25 October 2026. - Visitors can buy tickets online at makerfairerome.eu. - Robotics, agrifood, craft and education programs will continue to unfold across the main venue and the additional site at the Istituto Superiore Antincendi. - The conference, demo and pitch programs may surface new projects, partnerships and follow-on development after the fair.

The bottom line: - Maker Faire Rome 2026 is using humanoid football, hands-on prototypes and public-facing research to show how fast innovation is moving from labs into everyday life.