Tekniker leads the robotics revolution in the healthcare sector in Spain
From 2023, he will coordinate the group dedicated to R&D in medical and healthcare robotics of the Spanish platform HispaRob, promoted by the Ministry of Science and Innovation of the Spanish Government.
Robotic technologies are opening up new possibilities in different sectors and the healthcare sector is no stranger to this revolution. The generation of new knowledge in fields such as quality, control, interaction, manipulation, navigation, perception and safety are set to make an indispensable contribution to and support the medical and healthcare ecosystem in areas such as diagnosis, intervention, rehabilitation and assistance for carers and patients, with the aim of achieving an autonomous and independent life.
With the aim of positioning Spain as a leader in the development of these technologies in the social and healthcare sector, the Basque technology centre Tekniker, a member of the Basque Research and Technology Alliance (BRTA), has been coordinating the Medical and Healthcare Robotics Working Group of the Spanish robotics technology platform, HispaRob, promoted by the Ministry of Science and Innovation of the Spanish Government since 2023.
The group’s mission is to improve people’s quality of life and the working conditions of healthcare professionals and caregivers through human-centred robotic technologies.
To this end, this ecosystem brings together knowledge from universities, centres, companies and other actors in the socio-health ecosystem on robotics, rehabilitation sciences, movement sciences, social sciences, ageing, care and e-health, providing the Spanish fabric with a unique interdisciplinary R&D environment that is competitive at European level.
Robotic technologies in the medical and healthcare field
The main objectives of the group coordinated by Tekniker are to align with the demands of the European robotics technology platform, euRobotics, and to contribute to the creation of a Spanish ecosystem in robotic technologies for the medical and healthcare sector.
Among other challenges, the aim is to support rehabilitation processes, increase individual autonomy and independence through the optimisation of health monitoring systems, improve mental health in the elderly and adolescents, diagnose illnesses, optimise surgeries, etc.
The technology centre, in addition to offering all its capacity in mechatronics and its experience in the development of medical devices, thanks to ISO 13485, is committed to new robotic technologies for natural interaction and the recognition of the person’s affective-cognitive state.
“Our multidisciplinary team can contribute to creating synergies and collaborations between the members of the group and generate research projects that promote R&D&I and the transfer of knowledge to the socio-health business network,” says Eneko Ugalde, director of Intelligent Autonomous Systems at Tekniker.
