United Robotics Group and KERN enter a strategic technology partnership

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Stuhr, 5 May 2026 – United Robotics Group GmbH (URG) announces a strategic technology partnership with KERN Katholische Einrichtungen Ruhrgebiet Nord GmbH, a network for medicine, care and education with around 7,500 employees at some 60 sites in the Ruhr region. The aim is to identify, develop and scale robotic and AI-supported solutions systematically. The solutions build on URG's platforms – among them uLab Mobile, uLog, uClean, uServe and uMe – and on the overarching software and orchestration layer uGo+.

The starting point is a successfully implemented use case at the KERN site St. Barbara Hospital in Gladbeck. There the autonomous mobile URG service robot uLab Mobile relieves laboratory staff in routine operation on day and night shifts and keeps processes stable. Building on this experience, both partners have now created a strategic framework for their collaboration. It follows a holistic platform approach for robotics systems, hospital IT, processes and data flows, covering among others laboratory automation and sample logistics, intralogistics as well as material and medication transport, care-supporting processes, service processes close to the operating theatre and in the clinic, and service and information robotics. Transparency, technological sovereignty and compliance with German and European data protection and ethics standards are central throughout.

uLab Mobile in laboratory operation: the robot arm handles sample tubes while a staff member continues working at the same bench.
Picture credit: © United Robotics Group

The collaboration deliberately goes beyond a classic supplier relationship.

Joint bodies for use cases and scaling

A joint Operational Board identifies new use cases and develops business case and scaling concepts. A Steering Committee assesses strategic relevance, regulatory feasibility and sustainable implementation. Together, both partners aim to carry out robust evaluations and business case analyses in order to show the added value of robotic solutions clearly.

uLab Mobile at a laboratory analysis line.
Picture credit: © United Robotics Group

Against the background of demographic change, a growing shortage of skilled staff and rising demands on quality, efficiency and resilience in hospitals, URG and KERN pursue a shared goal with their partnership: technology should relieve staff in a targeted way and support the people who do the work. Both partners share the conviction that technological innovation is sustainable only when it serves people.