United Robotics Group opens robotics training center in Gelsenkirchen, in the heart of a former hospital

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Stuhr, August 6, 2026 – United Robotics Group (URG), a leading provider of AI-supported robotics solutions for healthcare and service settings, is opening a new site in Gelsenkirchen. As part of its existing technology partnership with KERN Katholische Einrichtungen Ruhrgebiet Nord GmbH, URG is moving into premises in the former St. Josef Hospital Gelsenkirchen, where KERN today operates the St. Josef health center. The new site serves as a robotics training and development center and marks a milestone in the strategic collaboration between the two companies.

From intensive care unit to innovation center

The premises of around 400 m² are located in the hospital's former emergency and intensive care ward. They are now being turned into one of Germany's most unusual robotics training centers, where URG robots can be demonstrated, trained and configured under real clinical and care conditions.

uLab Mobile handling samples: a staff member sorts sample tubes while the robot arm works alongside her.
Picture credit: © United Robotics Group

Two specialized training rooms for realistic application scenarios

At the heart of the new site are two demonstration and training rooms for robotics in realistic laboratory, hospital, care and support environments:

• Clinic & laboratory demo environment: A room that authentically reproduces a clinical laboratory and hospital environment. Here URG robots can be demonstrated, tested and developed further under realistic conditions – from sample logistics to support for clinical processes.
• Care & support demo environment: A flexibly configurable room that serves both as a patient room with a hospital bed and as a care or living environment – equipped with a bed, an armchair, a table and further practical furnishings. This room makes it possible to simulate different application scenarios in healthcare and care settings true to life, and to trial robotics solutions for both.

One special feature of the site: an electric hospital double door remains in place in the corridor of the former clinic building. It allows typical use cases to be demonstrated, such as robots passing through doors autonomously and automated bed transport – both part of everyday hospital life.

Four robotics systems in training

Four URG robotics systems are being trained and developed further at the new Gelsenkirchen site:

• uMe – URG's humanoid assistance and communication robot, designed for human-centerd environments in care, clinics and support. uMe combines voice-based interaction, sensor-based perception and pre-programmed movement sequences to relieve care staff and accompany people in need of care through their day.
• uLab Mobile – the mobile, autonomous service robot for supporting tasks in clinical laboratories, where it handles sample processing, instrument loading and transport tasks around the clock – and is now being developed and trained for further tasks in clinical environments.
• uLog – the autonomous logistics system for recurring transport tasks in hospitals and care facilities, where it relieves specialist staff of the time-consuming internal transport of supplies, laundry and other goods.
• uServe – a versatile service robot developed for human-centerd environments such as healthcare. It is equipped with advanced navigation and interaction systems that allow it to handle tasks autonomously, such as delivering medical supplies, guiding visitors and providing important information.

The robot portfolio of United Robotics Group at a glance.
Picture credit: © United Robotics Group

All URG robotics systems are integrated into the AI-based software platform uGo+, developed together with the Fraunhofer Institute, which enables intelligent fleet management and workflow orchestration for URG robots.