Cluj IT, acting as a partner for the Future of Work project, invited members of the cluster to visit the laboratories that are held at the Cluj Innovation Park, better known as the Regional Center for Excellence in Creative Industries. The event was organized to better understand the needs of the industry that is rapidly growing and to present to the public, internal or external, the possibilities that they may encounter if they choose to participate with their own projects and benefit from the technological investments that these laboratories provide for the public.
The speakers were Ovidiu Câmpean, project manager for the Cluj-Napoca City Hall, which addressed the audience with encouraging words of aiming towards the future and striving to make Cluj a better place to live, and Stelian Brad, president of Cluj IT, which emphasized the need to work together, see how to better understand the technologies that lie ahead and to prepare the work force to adapt and adopt the use of robots and not run away from automation.
The project in which all of these laboratories are used for is called Work 4.0, designed within the bigger project Future of Work, and it’s final objective is to prepare the organizations that participate in the courses and onsite laboratories to better understand the skills that they require to keep up to speed with automation. A technological transfer of knowledge will be made at the end of the project and the participants will have an opportunity to bring to their companies a new set of skills and principles that will enable them to be more productive and embrace the future.
Apart from the speakers, members from the Cluj IT cluster were present from public and private institutions, small and medium enterprises, private companies and members of Cluj Innovation Park. This has led to a better understanding of the fact that technology is present in every aspect of the work force and everyone needs to understand to better prepare themselves for the needs and skills that will be required in order to keep up with the new industrial revolution called Industry 4.0.
The event was split into three smaller chapters, based on the nature and use-case scenario of the laboratories. The first laboratory to visit and interact with was the Machine Learning and Automation lab, designed with the help of Cluj IT and in which several courses will be held to provide top of the line expertise for companies that want to enhance their skills and knowledge for the future that lies ahead. The second laboratory was the CGI and VFX lab, designed with the help of UAD (University of Art and Design), that aims to offer the means and space of creation for the professionals that want to create the next generation of audiovisual content. And last but not least, the Custom Design Lab, designed by the Transilvanian Furniture Cluster, with the purpose of helping companies that are in this domain of activity to better understand the needs of the market and keep up with complexities that furniture design is facing and offer solutions that will help the company and the end-user as well.
The Machine Learning and Automation Lab was filled with state of the art equipment, such as collaborative robots, pneumatic devices, social robots, virtual reality goggles, augmented reality smart glasses, workstations for Unity and Blender projects, Internet of Things sensors and devices to make the buildings of tomorrow much more smarter and energy efficient.
The CGI and VFX Lab was filled with workstations aimed at creating the next generation of computer generated images and scenes for the biggest Hollywood blockbusters that can take place in Cluj-Napoca, cameras to bring ideas to reality and puppets and gadgets to create new methods of creating visual content.
The Custom Design Lab has 3D printing devices to better understand the process of bringing an object from the drawing board to a actual working product, test it to ensure it passess the most rigorous ISO certification standards and afterwards, see how the general public can benefit from these principles when it comes to enjoy the best furniture created in Romania with the aim of thinking towards the future.
The event lasted for two hours, plenty of time to explore and test all of the equipment that was present in each laboratory and afterwards, enjoy a live lunch where ideas could be shared and plans can be made in order to properly visit and work within the laboratories that Future of Work has provided for the audience.
Work 4.0 is an activity within the project Cluj Future of Work, financed by the European Fund of Regional Development through the Urban Innovative Actions.
