Orazio’s dream and other Electronics & IoT projects take centre stage at Maker Faire Rome 2025

Electronics & IoT, because it is a revolution within a revolution

Electronics provides the physical components (sensors, processors, wireless modules) that enable objects to connect and exchange data over the Internet, creating the IoT network. The integration of these technologies enables functions such as remote control and system automation in various sectors, from home automation to industry. The IoT has ushered in a new era in which everyday objects connect with each other and exchange data. This digital revolution has inevitably led to a profound transformation in the electronic components sector, which is at its heart. At Maker Faire Rome 2025, the projects on display at the Gazometro once again opened a window onto this piece of the future, which is now the present. If you missed anything, here are the Electronics & IoT projects that impressed us the most.

Orazio’s dream and the pocket-sized robot ROBORA

As a child, Orazio did not dream of football, but of welding. He loved to take things apart, understand them, and rebuild them. After technical studies and years of work in research and development, he decided to realise a dream he had cherished since his school days: to create a robot as small as the palm of his hand, but powerful enough to teach robotics to everyone. This is how ROBORA was born: a pocket-sized, two-wheeled robot, measuring 40 mm × 60 mm, open-source, based on ESP32-C3, with sensors, Wi-Fi and expansion connectors. Designed for students and makers, it offers an accessible, modifiable and playful gateway to robotics. Orazio did not finish university, but he built a bridge between passion and sharing, solder joint after solder joint.

From knowledge to prevention, this is how I combat radon with my ARMS

Salvatore Campeggio is an electronic engineer with years of experience in the classroom and laboratory. But his real urgency is to fight an invisible enemy: radon, a radioactive gas responsible for serious diseases and still poorly monitored in Italy. So he designed ARMS, an open-source, low-cost environmental radon meter, in two versions: Lucas cell with photodiode and ion chamber.

The goal is twofold: to provide an accessible tool and to create a public database that helps researchers and technicians correlate the presence of radon with cancer events. Salvatore built the prototype based on optoelectronic studies, adding an interface with a microcontroller, memory and display, to make it usable even by those who are not professionals in the field. A project born from the desire to transform technical knowledge into concrete prevention.

No more power outages thanks to Airfield Security

Researchers at DITEN Unige – Dipartimento di Ingegneria Navale, Elettrica, Elettronica e delle Telecomunicazioni dell’Università di Genova, together with the start-up Airfield Security, have developed Airfield Security, a system for monitoring and protecting industrial control networks from cyber attacks. By analysing network traffic near sensors and controllers and integrating artificial intelligence, the project aims to prevent disruptions in strategic sectors such as energy, water and transport.