Robots for household and care
The German Robotics Association (DRV) has recently explained why our prosperity and quality of life can only be secured with the help of robots(link). The DRV argues that companies can increasingly only maintain their business models by means of robots. Since there is also an increasing shortage of personnel in nursing, robots can also become important here. In addition, extending the period during which seniors live in their previous environment will relieve the burden on nursing and retirement homes. Staying at home longer will often only be feasible with the help of robotics. Against this background, the following screenshots show the status of published work/visions of important German robotics manufacturers. Extensive sources have been compiled by the Technical University of Munich, among others(source).
Franka Emika
With founders from the university environment and, what's more, with a degree in medicine, the Munich-based startup almost traditionally conducts research in the fields of nursing and medicine. In cooperation with the University Hospital Rechts der Isar and especially the Robokind Foundation, for example, a corona test swab station was developed. The knowledge gained here can certainly be used to some extent in telemedicine. This can be used to counter the shortage of doctors in rural areas. It seems conceivable that in the future there will be a cobot in municipal offices that is remotely controlled by a doctor in the district town, for example. In this way, patients can be examined locally even if it is no longer possible to staff a practice. This will in turn greatly help the elderly who are not mobile.
Neura Robotics
David Reger, founder and head of Neura Robotics, considers the private household market more interesting than the industrial market. On the one hand, there are already strong market leaders in the latter, and then the number of private households is almost infinite. Incidentally, Samsung seems to think similarly. The Koreans are currently developing a household robot, but the industry does not interest them. It is important for Reger to point out that household robots will be much cheaper because they do not have to have a high payload or be subjected to continuous operation. They may also be slow. In addition, there are certainly the enormous purchasing and manufacturing advantages with the feasible volume. The Thermomix with a number of units like in the good old days of the automobile industry and permanent price increases shows that households can be very interesting. The photo is more likely to show a vision than a product ready for series production:
United Robotics Group
Die neue, aber Kapital- und Tech-starke Gruppe mit Sitz in Bochum verfolgt vielfältige Ansätze. Von Behindertenwerkstätten über Altersheimen bis zum Haushalt dürfte sie in naher Zukunft alles beliefern bzw. tut es bereits. Wem das Foto des bekanntesten Roboters, dem Pepper, zu „gekünstelt“ vorkommt, dem sei eine Anekdote des heutigen Handelsblatt-Chefredakteur Sebastian Matthes vergegenwärtigt: Bei einer KI-Tagung in München erzählte er vor drei Jahren davon, wie er und seine Frau sonntagmorgens im Bett um 7 Uhr die Rufe ihres Kindes ignorierten und sich schlafend stellten. Nach dem dritten ergebnislosen „Papa“, „Mama“ rief das Kind „Alexa“.
F&P Robotics
The established Swiss company with Chinese investors has been involved in caring for the disabled and elderly for years. The video is already three years old - a long time for robotics with its technological leaps:
igus
The Cologne-based family-owned group, for me one of the best-run and most innovative companies in Germany, surprised us with this photomontage shortly before the Hannover Messer trade fair, which is now starting:
Heute noch Vision, morgen „warum nicht?“ zeigt das Foto schön, worum es gehen wird: Unterstützung und Hilfe für ältere Personen. igus hat weitere Details in einer Pressemitteilung verraten. Im igus-Shop habe ich „Robert M3“ noch nicht gefunden.