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
- Our project at the Expo 2025 at in Japan
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
/ Von Wädenswil an die Expo 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 kB)
/ Presentation Yulia Sandamirskaya (PDF 2.66 MB) - March 20, 2025
Mini-Konferenz «RobotCare: Forschung- & Entwicklung von Robotikanwendungen für Pflegeheime»
/ Präsentation RobotCare Intro Yulia Sandamirskaya (PDF 17.62 MB)
/ Präsentation Mattia Heuberger (PDF 517 kB)
/ Präsentation Karl Enzler (PDF 539 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.
current, 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…
current, 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…
expired, 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…
current, 03/2024 - 02/2026
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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…
expired, 10/2023 - 09/2024
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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.…
current, 10/2023 - 09/2026
Publications
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Miyashita, Shuhei; Tientcheu Ngouabeu, Aubery Marchel; Füchslin, Rudolf Marcel; Nakajima, Kohei; Audretsch, Christof; Pfeifer, Rolf,
2011.
Basic problems in self-assembling robots and a case study of segregation on tribolon platform.
In:
Meng, Yan; Yaochu, Jin, eds.,
Bio-inspired self-organizing robotic systems.
Berlin:
Springer.
pp. 173-191.
Studies in computational intelligence ; 355.
Available from: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-20760-0_8
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Tientcheu Ngouabeu, Aubery Marchel; Miyashita, Shuhei; Füchslin, Rudolf Marcel; Nakajima, Kohei; Göldi, Maurice; Pfeifer, Rolf,
2010.
Self-organized segregation effect on self-assembling robots[paper].
In:
Fellermann, Harold; Dörr, Mark; Hanczyc, Martin M.; Ladegaard Laursen, Lone; Maurer, Sarah; Merkle, Daniel; Monnard, Pierre Alain; Støy, Kasper; Rasmussen, Steen, eds.,
Artificial live XII : proceedings of the twelfth international conference on the synthesis and simulation of living systems.
The 12th International Conference on the Synthesis and Simulation of Living Systems, Odense, Denmark, 19-23 August 2010.
Cambridge:
MIT Press.
pp. 232-238.
Artificial life ; 12.
Available from: https://doi.org/10.21256/zhaw-4112
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Seatovic, Dejan; van de Venn, Hans Wernher,
2008.
In:
Intelligente mechatronische Systeme.
Internationales Forum Mechatronik 2008, 22. & 23. September 2008.
Stuttgart:
Kompetenznetzwerk Mechatronik BW.
pp. 280.
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2007.
Mini-Roboter mit Deltakinematik : hoher Wirkungsgrad und schnelle Beschleunigung.
Handling.
2007(10).
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Maag, Stephan; Hüppi, Richard Alexander; van de Venn, Wernher,
2007.
In:
Internationales Forum Mechatronik 2007, Winterthur, 12.-13. September 2007.