Award ceremony for "Rubic"
September 10, 2026
Today, Thursday 10 September, the RUBIC award final was held in the Aula Galileo at Padova Congress: promoted by the University of Padua, RUBIC™ – Robotic Urology Breakthrough Innovation Challenge is the first international challenge dedicated to innovative proposals on the integration of robotic urological surgery and new technologies aimed at the under-35s. The initiative had attracted 11 highly complex international projects.
The winner was the young urologist Luca Morgantini, currently at the University of Illinois di Chicago, with the project “Janus AI”, a technology for robotic surgery that analyses in real time the last 30 seconds of an operation directly from the doctor’s console. In about one second, the system compares the anatomical situation with a vast database of recorded procedures, showing the surgeon how expert colleagues have handled that exact same step. The goal is to offer immediate decision-making support during complications, making global clinical experience accessible to any operating theatre.
Morgantini was presented with the award by the Rector of the University of Padua, Daniela Mapelli, in the form of a sculpture depicting a plastic representation of the Specola, 3D-printed, topped with a Rubik’s Cube.
The winner also received a cheque for €5,000 and access to consultancy from the Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT) in Genova for the development of the idea, which may also be presented free of charge at the MedTech congress in Malta next November, an international summit dedicated to medical, healthcare and biomedical technologies.
The international jury, chaired by Prof. Dal Moro, consisted of six experts with expertise not only in urology but also in engineering, marketing and business incubation, in order to assess each project not only from a clinical perspective, but also from engineering and idea-promotion perspectives.
In view of the response received, the University of Padua has started the registration of the RUBIC™ trademark. The competition will be held again annually.
