RobotCare – Network for Robots who Care
RobotCare is a community network of various national and international stakeholders coordinated by the ZHAW in the context of developing service robots for the specific needs of retirement and nursing homes.
Goals / What we offer
Application-centred clarification of the needs in the field of service robotics in retirement and nursing homes and corresponding derivation of the market potential nationally and internationally
Establishing a systematic dialogue between technology developers and researchers as well as stakeholders of the elderly and healthcare facilities, including care and service staff, management and residents and their families
Identification of synergies between national and international universities for future joint initiatives in the field of applied research and development
Robotics Workshop at ZHAW Digital Health Lab Day on September 3, 2025 in Winterthur. Details and Registration
Retrospect
- June 16, 2025, Swiss Pavillon, World Expo Osaka
RobotCare Next steps, Input Talks, Workshop + Discussions
/ Our project at the Expo 2025 at in Japan
/ LinkedIn - June 13 - 15, 2025
Visit to Kitakyushu Research Park - June 10, 2025
2025 Digital Night in Winterthur - May 22, 2025
Zukunftsworkshop «Weiterentwicklung von Sozialen Robotern für den Einsatz in der Demenzversorgung»
/ Presentation Zukunftsworkshop(PDF 726,3 KB)
/ Presentation Yulia Sandamirskaya(PDF 2,7 MB) - March 20, 2025
Mini-Konferenz «RobotCare: Forschung- & Entwicklung von Robotikanwendungen für Pflegeheime»
/ Präsentation RobotCare Intro Yulia Sandamirskaya(PDF 18,0 MB)
/ Präsentation Mattia Heuberger(PDF 517,4 KB)
/ Präsentation Karl Enzler(PDF 539,1 KB)
/ Präsentation Sylvia Stocker - February 4, 2025
Visit of WIRED JAPAN - November 21/22, 2024
open-i 2024 - The Swiss Innovation Platform - November 15, 2024
Presentation of Unitree G1 “Roboter-Premiere in Winterthur” - November 1, 2024
Swiss Robotics Day 2024, Bern (exhibitors) - September 2, 2024
Workshop at the Digital Health Lab Day 2024 «Co-design of Service Robots in Healthcare: Multiple perspectives and stakeholders» in Winterthur; TRANSFER magazine article
Projects
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Supervised Human-Interactive Embodied Learning and Development (SHIELD)
This project aims to sensibly improve the safety and success rate for long-horizon tasks of autonomous robots leveraging GenAI “robotic brains” (e.g. LLMs, VLMs) in unstructured environments.
ongoing, 06/2025 - 05/2026
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RobotCare – User experience in development of service robots for elderly care
Objectives of the project: Establish a systematic dialogue between the technology developers and researchers and the elderly/healthcare institution stakeholders (including medical, care, and service personnel, management, patients, and their families) in both regions and develop a suitable…
ongoing, 09/2024 - 08/2025
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Needs-based social assistance robots for people with dementia
Background: Social assistance robots (SAR) are increasingly being used in care homes, but the specific needs/requirements for their use in dementia care are unclear. A literature review, focus group interviews and a future workshop are used to gain insights for further development. Aims…
ongoing, 06/2024 - 07/2025
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Neuromorphic Technology for Embodied AI
Automation in dynamic environments - in agriculture, healthcare, or small-scale production - is limited. Rigid industrial robots fail in these complex environments. The key towards more flexible, adaptive, and safe automation is better perception. Robots need to assess their environment visually…
ongoing, 03/2024 - 02/2026
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SmartSenseAI
SmartSenseAI develops a robust, extremely low-cost, customizable, flexible multi-purpose skin for cobots, enhanced by cognitive information processing. This will significantly increase safety in physical human-robot collaboration (pHRC) and enable proactive, intuitive and reactive interaction.…
ongoing, 10/2023 - 09/2026
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Emerging AI and computing technologies (Oasis)
In the Oasis project, we demonstrate how neuromorphic technology -- Intel's research chip Loihi 2’s -- can be used for assistive humanoid robot used in a smart city environment. Neuromorphic hardware and software support development of applications featuring low-latency real-time sensory processing…
completed, 10/2023 - 09/2024
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New sensor and actuator technologies for robots
Development of mathematical-technical concepts for novel robot sensors and actuators, particularly using smart materials and "optimal morphology", enabling e.g. more efficient control, reduced energy consumption, or safer direct interaction with humans. Examples include approaches from the area of…
completed, 07/2015 - 12/2017
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Robo-Mate – Intelligent exoskeleton based on human-robot interaction for manipulation of heavy goods in Europe’s factories of the future
Human-Machine Cooperation Paves the Way for Smart Factories of the Future Various manual work tasks necessary to industrial manufacturing processes are difficult to automate – even today - due to their complexity. This is particularly the case in assembling and dismantling operations, such as those…
completed, 09/2013 - 11/2016
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Control framework for continuum robots (CASCADE)
CASCADE is an EU-funded project in which a unified control framework for continuum robots that can operate in complex and deformable environments (specifically in the cardiovascular system) is developed. Recent efforts in robotics and automation research have fostered the development of a wide…
completed, 02/2013 - 01/2016
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Robotics and autonomous devices in social and health care
Background :Demographic developments, shortage of skilled personnel and growing economic pressure in the health sector lead to an increased focus on technical solutions in the field of medical care and treatment of people. So far, robots are mainly technology-driven and still in the development and…
completed, 05/2011 - 12/2012
Publications
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Sandamirskaya, Yulia; Gerber, Nicole,
2025.
Einsatz von Robotern : Entlastung oder Konkurrenz?.
In:
5. Schweizer Hotellerie-Symposium im Gesundheitswesen, Suhr, Schweiz, 14. Mai 2025.
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Schorp, Vincent; Giraud, Frédéric; Pargätzi, Gianluca; Wäspe, Michael; von Ritter-Zahony, Lorenzo; Wegmann, Marcel; Cavalcanti, Nicola A.; Henao, John Garcia; Bünger, Nicholas; Cachin, Dominique; Caprara, Sebastiano; Fürnstahl, Philipp; Carrillo, Fabio,
2025.
A modular edge device network for surgery digitalization[paper].
In:
17th Hamlyn Symposium on Medical Robotics, London, United Kingdom, 24-27 June 2025.
arXiv.
Available from: https://doi.org/10.48550/arxiv.2503.14049
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Sandamirskaya, Yulia; Gerber, Nicole,
2025.
Robotikanwendungen für Pflegeheime.
Transfer.
2025(1), pp. 9.
Available from: https://doi.org/10.21256/zhaw-33344
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2024.
Von dienenden Robotern, optimierten Events und Gastronomie-Nudges.
Clinicum.
2024(6), pp. 72-73.
Available from: https://doi.org/10.21256/zhaw-32042
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Sandamirskaya, Yulia; Gerber, Nicole,
2024.
Robotik für Heime – was ist möglich, was nötig?.
In:
9. Fachkonferenz – Das Pflegeheim der Zukunft, Blezinger Healthcare, Interlaken, Schweiz, 20.-21. Juni 2024.