Robotics and AI for the care of the elderly
The Bavarian cabinet’s 2023 draft budget includes 4.74 million euros in funding for research on robotics and AI applications in the care of the elderly. This was announced by Bavarian science minister Markus Blume on a visit to the TUM Geriatronics campus in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, which he praised as a “model project for Germany and the world”.
In 2023 the state of Bavaria will provide funding to establish the TUM Geriatronics Campus and launch the Robo.Care AI mission. The new campus is a project under the auspices of the Munich Institute of Robotics and Machine Intelligence (MIRMI) of TUM.
In the 2023 draft budget alone, funds are set aside for two professorships, 12 research and technology transfer positions as well as 4.74 million euros for material costs. The new campus will also offer a new masters program for geriatronics. The overall project will include a special research zone for geriatronics and healthcare robotics as well as the Robo.Care AI Mission, dedicated to advances in the use of AI in nursing care.
Care, education and research
With partners from the nursing care and healthcare fields, TUM is building a collaborative campus where care, education and research are combined to develop AI/robotics technologies and create applications ready for everyday use. It will include a 25,000 square meter care centre operated by the Caritas charity that will house a social services station, assisted living facilities and a broad range of nursing care services.
The adjacent educational centre will utilise technical developments in robotics and AI and provide training for nursing care specialists. The TUM Geriatronics Innovation Space will incubate startups to convert technological developments into products suitable for the real world.
Science minister Blume said: “The Geriatronics Campus is on the way and Garmisch-Partenkirchen will now be a university town. With 14 new positions and around 4.7 million euros in funding for materials and equipment in the 2023 draft budget alone, Bavaria is launching a model project for Germany and the world. High-tech solutions in the interests of better quality of life – by bringing together geriatrics and robotics.
“Here, high-tech research is at the service of patients – an exemplary case of technology serving people, with a unique combination of teaching, research and real-world AI applications. We want to bring elite robotics researchers to Garmisch-Partenkirchen.”
MIRMI director Professor Sami Haddadin announced: “In Garmisch-Partenkirchen we will establish a unique experimental field for leading-edge research and development in robotics for nursing care and health care. In doing so, we aim to set new international standards. With this unique TUM campus we will strengthen and raise the international profile of research and education in the field of geriatronics and healthcare robotics in Garmisch-Partenkirchen while taking action to secure and enhance the future of the region.
“Only through innovative and integrated approaches like these can we develop sustainable solutions for autonomous living in old age.”
Visit the Mirmi TUM website for more information
