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
The new, but capital- and tech-strong group based in Bochum is pursuing a variety of approaches. In the near future, it is likely to supply everything from workshops for the disabled to old people's homes and households, or is already doing so. If the photo of the best-known robot, Pepper, seems too "artificial," consider an anecdote from Sebastian Matthes, editor-in-chief of the Handelsblatt newspaper: At an AI conference in Munich three years ago, he told of how he and his wife ignored their child's calls in bed at 7 a.m. on Sunday mornings and pretended to be asleep. After the third fruitless "Dad," "Mom," the child called "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:
Today still vision, tomorrow "why not?" the photo shows nicely what it will be about: Support and help for older people. igus has revealed more details in a press release. I have not yet found "Robert M3" in the igus store.