Service robots in care homes: more time for residents

You cannot close the gap with staff who do not exist

The German Federal Statistical Office expects demand for nursing staff in Germany to rise from 1.62 million in 2019 to around 2.15 million in 2049. Depending on the scenario, between 280,000 and 690,000 nursing staff will be missing. Across Europe, the OECD counts a shortfall of around 1.2 million healthcare professionals today.

In practice that means activation gets cancelled because nobody has time. Not for lack of will, but for lack of a minute.

Our answer: robots take over what needs no human attention – routes, transport, cleaning, repetition – and create room for what only people can do. A humanoid robot can additionally speak, activate and remind when nobody else can.

What is possible in a care home

• Transport: linen, material and meals on recurring routes – uLog drives, the team stays with the resident.
• Cleaning with proof: uClean cleans corridors and communal areas reproducibly and documents it.
• Conversation and activation: uMe holds structured conversations, activates and reminds – with a display for people with hearing impairment.
• Service: uServe brings drinks and small items to the unit.
• Auditable: what the robot did is recorded in uGo+ – for quality management and inspection.

What we do not promise

No robot lifts, washes or repositions a person. None replaces a conversation a human should have. And none solves staff shortage – it only shifts what the available time is spent on. That is less than some brochures promise, and more than happens today.

Your robot. Your data.

A robot that works inside your building sees and hears things that are nobody’s business outside it. That is why AI processing runs on the device, not in someone else’s cloud. No permanent internet connection is required for operation, which makes closed hospital, care-home and laboratory networks possible. What is generated in your building stays in your building: you decide what is stored, analysed or deleted. Through uGo+ you define who may start which tasks, and mission reports are auditable – the basis for a data protection impact assessment, your works council and any inspection.

Buy or rent: Robot-as-a-Service

You can buy, or rent under Robot-as-a-Service. With rental you pay a recurring monthly fee that covers hardware, software maintenance and service together – from the operating budget rather than the capital budget. That is the usual route for a pilot and for a staged rollout across several sites.

An honest note: renting is not automatically cheaper than buying – it shifts risk and timing. What works for your organisation depends on term, quantity, available funding and budget structure. We work through that openly in a first conversation instead of selling you a model. We do not publish prices, because configuration and integration scope decide the number – a figure without that context would be misleading.

Why us

• More than 500 units in daily operation in hospitals and laboratories – not pilot promises, but shift work.
• More than 20,000 robots deployed across all our product lines – 15 years of experience with people who work alongside robots.
• uGo+ as a single interface for tasks, permissions, reporting and fleet management – across multiple sites.
• Manufacturer, not reseller. Development, integration and service come from us.

Frequently asked questions

What tasks does a service robot take on in a care home?

Transport of linen, material and meals, floor cleaning with documentation, service on the residential unit, and conversation, activation and reminders through the humanoid robot uMe.

Do residents accept it?

Experience from more than 500 units in operation shows that acceptance grows when the robot has a clearly recognisable task and staff explain it. That is why training and communication are part of every project.

Does a robot replace nursing staff?

No. It takes over routes, routine and repetition. Relationship, judgement and responsibility stay with people.

Is funding available for care providers?

Depending on facility type and region, funding and refinancing routes exist. We help identify which apply; the application stays with you or your provider organisation.

Can a service robot be rented?

Yes, as Robot-as-a-Service with a monthly fee from the operating budget – the usual route for a pilot.

The next step

A first conversation takes twenty minutes. Afterwards you will know whether deployment pays off in your organisation – and if it does not, we will say so. Reach us through the contact form or your existing contact at United Robotics Group.

Sources: OECD, Health at a Glance: Europe 2024 · German Federal Statistical Office, nursing workforce projection, press release of 23 January 2024 · German Economic Institute (IW), STEM Spring Report 2026.