Assistive robotics is becoming a key tool in the transformation of healthcare systems towards more efficient, sustainable and people-centred models, where current trends point towards smarter, more adaptive and interconnected robots combining artificial intelligence, data analysis and multimodal capabilities to respond dynamically to the changing needs of users.
This was the message delivered today at the Health Revolution Congress, one of the biggest events in digital health, by Felip Miralles, Director of Health Technologies at Eurecat. He commented that “the evolution towards modular and scalable systems makes it possible to gradually roll them out in clinical, social healthcare and home settings, in a scenario where this new generation of robotic solutions not only improves clinical outcomes and quality of life but also redefines the role of professionals by freeing up time for activities of greater human and clinical value.”
These robotic systems “are designed to interact safely and empathetically with patients and professionals and lend a hand with tasks such as remote monitoring, emotional support, personalised rehabilitation and cognitive assistance,” he said at the event, organised by the Barcelona Madrid Health Hub and held at the Sant Pau Art Nouveau Site.
“Their integration makes it possible to engage with people in a much more personalised way, which in turn improves treatment adherence and expands the scope of social and healthcare services, especially in cases of staff shortages or ageing populations,” added David Marí, Director of Digital Health at Eurecat.
“Breakthroughs in artificial intelligence in perception and reasoning mean social care robots combine the dialogue capabilities of conversational agents with the expressiveness and interaction capabilities of a robot, delivering a new tool for intuitive and natural interaction,” argued Daniel Serrano, director of the Robotics and Automation Unit at Eurecat.
Jana, a social robot that connects with people to help with communication in clinical settings
Eurecat in partnership with Hospital Sant Joan de Déu in Barcelona has developed Jana, a social care robot capable of recognising faces and analysing its surroundings to connect naturally with people, making it easier to communicate in clinical and home care settings.
The Jana robot “is a prime example of how social robotics and artificial intelligence can change how people interact with technology, making innovation more human and accessible to society,” said Daniel Serrano.
When interacting with people, Jana responds when someone says ‘Hey Jana’, or takes the initiative when it detects people around it, making contact more seamless and accessible. It can also express itself, matching what it says with facial expressions and subtle movements to enhance communication and connect more naturally with people.
NHoA, an assistive robot which can hold a conversation, provide personalised care and guide an exercise routine
Eurecat has also developed as part of the NHoA (Never Home Alone) project an assistive robot which helps people at home with a range of daily tasks and can hold a conversation and offer personalised care to users based on monitoring their state of health or mood, furnishing for example instructions for an exercise routine.
Specifically, “the robot draws on breakthroughs in generative artificial intelligence to enable complex human-robot interactions, facilitating understanding, engaging in open dialogues with natural language, and displaying expressiveness, emotions and reasoning to dynamically adjust its behaviour,” added Daniel Serrano.
The project is an assistive robotics solution which can interact in a socially smart way to build an affective relationship with the user and help enhance the quality and independence of users’ lives, in particular people with special needs and senior citizens.
“The robot performs remote health monitoring and cognitive and physical stimulation to maintain and improve healthy lifestyle habits through medication and healthy diet reminders, enable early detection of physical and cognitive deterioration or boredom and suggest appropriate interventions,” pointed out Daniel Serrano.
The NHoA project consortium brings together partners with experience in elderly care along with scientists involved in cognitive, affective and human social robotics and businesses engaged in robotics for social and medical care. In addition to Eurecat, it is made up of Pablo de Olavide University, the Open University of Catalonia, PAL Robotics, LIGHTHOUSE Disruptive Innovation Group Europe, the Extremadura Autonomy and Dependency Care Promotion Service (SEPAD) through FUNDESALUD, Fundació Sant Joan de Déu and Parc Sanitari Sant Joan de Déu.
Mobile robots for use as assistants in hospitals delivering food trays or materials to healthcare personnel
As part of the European DIH-Hero innovation hub, PAL Robotics teamed up with Accerion to develop the TIAGo Conveyor and TIAGo Delivery mobile robots for use in hospitals as assistants to healthcare staff for delivering food trays to patients or other materials in response to the COVID-19 pandemic in a project the robotics firm undertook with the support of Eurecat.
Developed in just two months, the TIAGo Delivery and TIAGo Conveyor robots were tested at Badalona Municipal Hospital and Hospital Clínic as part of efforts to tackle COVID-19 with a view to helping healthcare staff focus on essential tasks, improving efficiency and reducing the need for social interaction in routine tasks.
