The city staged its first ever Robot Day at the Coventry Transport Museum on Saturday (March 9), which attracted more than 5,500 visitors from across the region and beyond – almost double the number organThe organisers behind a major new event in Coventry are planning to grow it locally and internationally in the build-up to Coventry’s year as City of Culture in 2021 after a hugely successful debut at tisers had hoped for.
The event was organised by the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) with support from Coventry University, Culture Coventry, Imagineer Productions and mCreat, as part of British Science Week.
It gave visitors the opportunity to get hands on with robots, hear from experts and see a range of demonstrations to show the growing positive impact robots have on our daily lives.
A series of special performances by Imagineer Productions’ ten-metre high Lady Godiva with the Urban Astronaut and the Hummingbird drone in Millennium Square wowed crowds throughout the day.
Organiser Stephen Powley, of Coventry University who volunteers with the IET, said the event had attracted far more visitors than were originally expected.
He said: “In many ways, we were testing to see the appetite for Robot Day in Coventry and were hoping for around 3,000 people during the day.
“So to attract more than 5,500 visitors to this volunteer-led event really has proved that this has the potential to grow and grow in the coming years.
“Our ambition is to build to an internationally significant celebration of robotics in 2021 when Coventry is UK City of Culture. The quality of the event on Saturday and the number of people it attracted has shown the potential for doing that.
“Over 150 volunteers contributed to the day and we’re so grateful to everyone who played their part in organising and supporting Robot Day in Coventry. We look forward to coming back even bigger and better next year.”
David Pilsbury, Deputy Vice Chancellor of Coventry University, said: “We are thrilled to have been part of the planning and organisation of this event and that Robot Day has been such a huge success.
“We have world class researchers in this area – such as Professor Kevin Warwick – and it’s great to have them exposed to a wider audience.
“It was fantastic to see Coventry Transport Museum so full and everyone having such a great time. It’s a delight to see an event that shows education can also be fun and for it to be so popular with such a broad range of people.”
