NORTICUM: Robotics with a human face
NORTICUM Is an innovative event and marketing agency, which primary focus is on promoting robotics and automation. Our main values are knowledge, learning, and creativity
NORTICUM: ROBOTICS WITH A HUMAN FACE
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We look forward to hearing from you and discussing the possibilities of creating success together.
THE INTERNATIONAL ROBOT PANEL IN THE RED SQUARE
In 2013, the robotics panel at the Russian Innovation Convention, which consisted of Giorgio Metta, Scientific Director of the Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Francesco Ferro, Director of Pal Robotics, Nigel Ackland (who demonstrated his bionic arm prosthesis), and Christian Gjørret, the Leader of the defunct Vive Les Robots!, visited the Red Square together with two of the Russian organizers, after the conference was concluded at the prestigious Bauman Technical University in Moscow.
TRANSFORMATION OF THE ROBOTIC SPIDER DRESS
In 2012, the upcoming Dutch Fashion Tech Designer Anouk Wipprecht presented her major breakthrough Robotic Spider Dress, which in its prototype technically was developed by the Austrian Software Developer Daniel Schatzmayr, at Cafe Neu Romance.
Present in the audience was LEGO Senior Model Designer Lee Magpili, and in 2015 he and Anouk Wipprecht developed a LEGO MINDSTORMS version of the creation, which assembly instructions can be found at Instructables.
This fusion between art and industry emphasized one of Cafe Neu Romance‘s central points, that normally separate positions within the robot world can meet and new collaborative ideas can arise and develop each other.
THE SECOND FEATURE ABOUT CAFE NEU ROMANCE ON CZECH TV
Iva Brejlová from Ceska Televize was the Editor behind “Robotika”, which is the second feature that Czech TV brought about the robot performance festival Cafe Neu Romance.
In the feature, you can see interviews with Christian Gjørret (Cafe Neu Romance), Steven Canvin (LEGO), Lars Kjellberg (The Danish Embassy), as well as i.a. works from LEGO, Stanley Povoda, Matthew Gardiner and Engineered Arts.
The feature runs from 2:03:42 – 2:01:51 and you can watch it here.
Christian Gjørret, the founder of NORTICUM, played an extra role as a soldier in the biggest Danish TV series production “1864“, which was filmed in the Czech Republic and Denmark.
INTRODUCTION TO NORTICUM
The purpose of NORTICUM has always been since it was first founded as an independent company by Christian Gjørret in 2006 in Denmark with the name Vive Les Robots! been getting people more interested in robots. After the one-man company curtailed its activities in 2017 due to personal matters, and closed it permanently in 2021, its activities have been silent until 2024, when the founder decided to revive Vive Les Robots!, this time with the name NORTICUM, where the event and marketing agency especially takes care of its interests within the promotion of robotics and automation.
At the time when Vive Les Robots! was founded around 20 years ago, there were a few news blogs world wide that exclusively dealt with the topic of robots, but not a dedicated event and marketing agency that marketed the technology. With the certainty that robot technology would have as much social importance in the 21st century as the car companies had for the 20th century, Christian Gjørret started the company when he saw the future possibilities in this industry.
Where the aim with Vive Les Robots! was to build an understanding of which stakeholders are interested in robots and automation, which quickly turned out to be a very diverse group of people, then the aim of NORTICUM is to primarily to focus on how the technologies take place in the Nordic, Baltic, and in Central European markets. For the same reason, the company’s base is in Warsaw, the capital of Poland, which is the commercial center of Central Europe.
In 1920 wrote the Czech author Karel Capek the drama R.U.R. (Rossum’s Universal Robots). It is from that play that the notion “robot” has its origin. In 2011 Christian Gjørret got the idea, why not let school kids be the first one to make a version of R.U.R. performed only by robots on a stage, and LEGO supported this project. After some years, where different stakeholders were involved in the project, it was first in 2015 it was implemented in collaboration with a secondary school in Jesenik, and had its premiere at Cafe Neu Romance the same year. The year after The RUR-Play was presented at Vetenskapsfestivalen in Gothenburg, Sweden, because of an invitation from Czech Center Stockholm, and at The American Center in Prague. Iveta Vávrová of Český rozhlas (Czech Radio) was also present that day, at the AC and did a report on The RUR-Play, which you can listen to here.
NORTICUM – A NETWORK BUSINESS THAT EMPOWERS HUMANS AND MAKES ROBOT TECHNOLOGY AND AUTOMATION VISIBLE
NORTICUM offers various services that have to do with robot events, communication and marketing of robot technology and automation, as well as being responsible for and running events that shed light on the subject from an educational perspective.
Typical services which was provided by defunct Vive Les Robots! were the planning, organization and implementation of events, such as the robot performance festival Cafe Neu Romance, which was an annual recurring international event that took place in Prague from 2012 to 2016. And also was responsible for the development of collaboration partners, PR and marketing materials for it.
The event was covered by AP, Czech TV and Radio, as well as national and local media in the Czech Republic and Denmark, and because of AP, the coverage of it reached around the world, as pictures from the event were shown on Yahoo’s various channels, as well as being shown on Al Jazerra’s children’s TV channel.
And, for a company like LEGO that showcased their MINDSTORMS robots, this product was showcased in other contexts, such as Sweden’s largest Science Festival due to the invitation of the Czech Centers Stockholm, and in India at the big Techfest in Mumbai.
In addition, we have f.ex. promoted robotics companies, such as defunct French startup Gostai Robotics, on social media, such as Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, by designing interviews and campaigns.
NORTICUM is focused not just on the visibility of robots and automation, but also to a greater extent on being the point of contact that links professional partners from the Nordics and the Baltics together with relevant actors from Central Europe, by providing consultation, organizing events and preparing marketing campaigns about this.
In collaboration with LEGO and the Indian robot education company Open Robotics Club, Christian Gjørret, the Leader of NORTICUM stood behind the concept for The LEGO MINDSTORMS School Tour in India, where Open Robotics Club visited various schools in India and did a teaching day about robots. And, in certain areas, as they reported back, the locals had never heard of what a robot is, so the visit caused great amazement and joy.
KNOWLEDGE, LEARNING AND CREATIVITY
The three concepts are the core values of NORTICUM. By ordering some of our services, then it will be organized in a way that make you appear unique and stand out from the crowd, regardless of whether it is about having sales materials produced, or by having a seminar or a trade fair stand planned.
In collaboration with the American Embassy in the Czech Republic, the Founder Christian Gjørret of NORTICUM organised a robot workshop for vulnerable children that taught them about robotics and competitions in a youth club. Since we also support robot clubs in Latin America, Asia and Africa, by promoting their events for free, you will also become part of the social responsibility by purchasing some of our services.
In addition, we support robot artists in getting their creativity out to a larger audience, by publishing interviews and by inviting them to an event, such as Cafe Neu Romance.