USI at the Osaka Expo, thanks to CodeLounge

The World Expo is taking place in Osaka from 13 April to 13 October. Switzerland has a pavilion featuring a narrative installation blending art and science, created by CodeLounge, part of the Software Institute at USI Faculty of Informatics.

Expo 2025 focuses on "Designing Future Society for Our Lives". With more than 150 nations, each represented with a pavilion, the organisers expect a total attendance of 28 million visitors.

With its pavilion, Switzerland aims to demonstrate its role as a reliable and innovative country capable of addressing the challenges of global change together with its international partners. Developed in collaboration with the State Secretariat for Education, Research, and Innovation (SERI), the pavilion highlights how Swiss initiatives and research projects contribute to sustainability and prosperity. Furthermore, it was constructed with the goal of minimising environmental impact.

During Expo 2025, which will take place over six months, the scientific program—developed in collaboration with Swissnex—will focus on three main topics, each spanning two themed months: From 13 April to 10 June: Augmented Human (robotics and artificial intelligence, AR/VR); from 11 June to 12 August: Life (life sciences, education, health and nutrition); from 13 August to 13 October: Planet (environment, sustainability, climate and energy). Additionally, there will be an exhibition titled "From Heidi to High-Tech", designed to showcase Switzerland's diversity and strengths.

Università della Svizzera italiana (USI) is featured in the Swiss pavilion with an installation implemented by CodeLounge. Visitors can share their wishes for the future by whispering them into illuminated rings around a central lake. This interaction will trigger the formation of floating bubbles, some of which will be filled with mist, symbolising the manifestation of collective aspirations. A key innovation of this installation is the integration of AI-powered data analysis. The system will capture spoken wishes in English and Japanese, convert them to text, and categorise them into thematic clusters. The most recurring themes will be dynamically projected in the tunnel between Sphere 2 and 3 of the Swiss Pavilion, enriching visitor engagement. CodeLounge is the Partner in charge of developing the AI solution, ensuring seamless processing and visualization of visitor inputs. The collaboration between CodeLounge and Swissnex was initiated by Roberto Minelli, Academic Coordinator of the Software Institute and Ambassador of CodeLounge. The project was implemented by Andrea Mocci (Junior Group Leader of CodeLounge) and Davide Paolo Tua (Senior R&D Engineer of CodeLounge) under the supervision of Marco D'Ambros (Director of CodeLounge).

CodeLounge is a key component of the SI: it is the Institute's incubator for software research and development. It integrates expertise from academia and industry to bridge the gap between research and practical applications. It also facilitates interdisciplinary projects and promotes collaboration between research groups to push research ideas beyond prototypes into real products.