IMDEA Networks at the 15th Edition of the Madrid is Science Fair

Visitors put their ingenuity to the test with the institute’s educational games

23 March 2026

Thousands of people visited the IMDEA Networks stand at the Madrid is Science Fair, held from March 19 to 21 at La Nave Madrid. The fifteenth edition of the Community of Madrid’s largest science outreach event, organized by madrimasd, once again established itself as a key meeting point between research and society. Over the course of three days, the IMDEA Networks team brought to the public, from students to visitors of all ages, the inner workings of some of the technologies that make the digital world we live in possible.

The fair was inaugurated by the President of the Community of Madrid, Isabel Díaz Ayuso, and the IMDEA Networks stand was visited by the Regional Minister for Education, Science and Universities, Mercedes Zarzalejo, who had the opportunity to experience one of the demonstrations first-hand.

Through interactive activities, visitors were able to experience science first-hand. Anthony Sánchez challenged participants’ visual perception with an image processing game based on color detection, while Thilo Wendt explained how Dijkstra’s algorithm finds the shortest path in a network, using the connection between a content server and an end device as an example.

In the field of optical communications, researchers Freddy del Ángel Arrieta and Edson Dos Santos demonstrated real-time video transmission using visible light communication (VLC) devices, highlighting the potential of these technologies as an alternative to radio frequency.

This demonstration was complemented by an experiment led by research engineer Josué Aguilar, in which a small laser transmitted messages encoded as ones and zeros through the air to a receiver located several meters away, showing in real time how light can carry digital information.

The stand also featured an outreach activity on blockchain led by predoctoral researcher Arivarasan Karmegam, as well as an interactive game on bias in artificial intelligence presented by senior researcher José Aguilar. In addition, visitors could take part in the classic prisoner’s dilemma, guided by PhD student Oriol Saguillo, to understand the fundamentals of game theory, and participate in a challenge designed by Sara Ibáñez in which they had to decipher an enigma using an AM radio.

Throughout the three days, the stand became a space for active learning, where participants could engage directly with science, take on different challenges, and put their ingenuity to the test. Many also completed their IMDEA passport, visiting the different institutes and gaining first-hand insight into their research lines.