Suara Cooperativa has carried out a pilot test to validate ROBOCAT’s safe navigation in a real residential environment and assess its response to common everyday obstacles.
On 30 March, Suara Cooperativa carried out a pilot test with ROBOCAT at the Colònia Güell Residence, with the aim of validating the behaviour of this assistive robot in a real environment. This initiative is promoted by Suara Cooperativa’s Social Digital Lab and is part of the call for grants for assistive robotics and sensorisation projects, within the Intelligent Digital Health (RETECH) subproject of the Department of Business and Labour, and is funded by Next Generation EU funds.
The session made it possible to test ROBOCAT’s navigation in everyday spaces within a residential care centre, in a real context and with situations similar to those that occur on a daily basis. Specifically, it was possible to verify the safety perimeter during navigation and assess the robot’s response to common obstacles found in the daily activity of a residence.
This pilot test of assistive robotics in residential care homes has been especially valuable because it has made it possible to observe the robot’s performance under real conditions of use. The overall assessment of the experience is very positive, both in terms of how the session was carried out and the results obtained, as ROBOCAT worked correctly throughout the entire test.
In the words of Mireia Miralles, director of the client area and head of robotics at Suara Cooperativa: “Testing ROBOCAT in a real residential environment helps us better understand how technology can support professional teams and bring value to people-centred care”.
Through Suara Cooperativa’s Social Digital Lab, the organisation promotes the incorporation of technological innovation solutions applied to residential care that help improve safety, efficiency and the quality of care for people. The combination of robotisation, sensorisation and digital health opens up new possibilities to respond to the current challenges faced by residential care centres from a people-centred perspective.
This experience represents another step forward for Suara Cooperativa in the development of assistive robotics, social robotics and Intelligent Digital Health projects, and reinforces its commitment, through the Social Digital Lab, to useful, safe innovation aimed at improving people’s wellbeing and quality of life in residential environments.
