The IV SMARTDESIGN: Innovations in Design and Digital Art Forum has ended in St. Petersburg, which has become a key event for specialists and students involved in research and project development at the intersection of design, digital art and technology in Russia. The forum was organized by St. Petersburg State University of Industrial Technologies and Design (Ƶ), which brought together participants from different regions of the country.
Interactive zones from Ƶ partners became one of the key elements of the forum. RoboHall presented the main installation of the forum, in which mechanics and creativity are intertwined — a robotic arm that interferes with glitter in the statue's head. The robot worked in real time, responding to movement, light and sound. Gazprom Neft demonstrated the Consta design system, which was first presented at the forum as an interactive object. The guests interacted with the digital interface, watched how modern IT products were born, and also had the opportunity to communicate with specialists creating the ecosystem of the country's largest energy company.
With the help of hh specialists. The forum participants tried on the professions of tomorrow. In an interactive format, they were given skills, directions, and career paths that were in demand in the era of artificial intelligence. In the VR area of the State Hermitage Museum, visitors immersed themselves in a virtual replica of the museum, strolled through its halls, examining works of art and getting acquainted with how the museum space is moving into the digital age. Creative contests with the opportunity to win prizes were organized for participants in the VK interactive zone.
The Ƶ Technological Leadership Office presented several zones where the guests tested VR games developed by university students, tested a checkers-playing robot designed by a university student, and saw how young engineers at Ƶ turned their ideas into working prototypes.
In addition, an exhibition of creative works by the winners and finalists of the Ƶ competition "Where does design end and digital Art begin? Digital transformation in creativity". The best works of art students in the genre of painting, sculpture, and digital art, which explore the boundaries of reality and virtuality, were presented here.
The forum program included meetings with the country's leading experts who determine the development of design, AI and the digital environment in Russia. The main speakers of the forum were: Ksenia Kuznetsova, Director of Sber AI projects; Elizaveta Zhiguleva, MTS Design Lead; Daria Skatova, Head of the Design Department at Gazprom Neft; Ekaterina Sharova, Head of the Hermitage Media Department; Valentina Antyushina, Deputy General Director of Sevkabel Port; Elena Tibina, Art Director of the Manege Exhibition Center; Evgeny Kirchanov, head of the Infinix training team, and others.
The partners of the forum were Gazprom Neft PJSC, the State Hermitage Museum, Manege Central Exhibition Complex, VK, MTS PJSC, , Sevkabel Port, Infinix, Shcheloch Studio, the St. Petersburg Union of Designers, RoboHall, who presented their initiatives and programs to support the professional growth of participants.