Interactive Robotics in Medicine and Care
© Bielefeld University
News
09.04.2025
SAIL Spring School 2025 brought together researchers, teachers and students to discuss current research on this year's topic “Innovating AI Evaluation - Beyond Accuracy and Precision”.
Between March 26 and 28, participants were able to listen to exciting presentations by 14 speakers and exchange ideas on evaluation metrics, fairness, safety and ethical aspects and thus learn a lot about new and current research on machine learning and AI. Over the three days of the event, which was well attended until the end, there was a lively exchange between the attendees, whether over shared meals or in poster sessions.
Kira Loos was on site for our working group and took over the chair for the tutorial “Fair Reinforcement Learning” together with David Schmidt from the Semantic Computing working group. If you would like to find out more about the event or SAIL in general, you can do so here on the project website.
02.04.2025
A few weeks ago we had the opportunity to attend the 1st German Robotics Conference in Nuremberg to participate in discussions about the newest developments in the HRI field and gather new inspiration for our upcoming tasks!
Anna-Lisa Vollmer represented us and shared our newest advancements in several projects such as Mobirobot, AURORA and ReMeMoMi. Besides presenting our research, Anna used the conference to connect with other researchers, engage in discussion and attend exciting panels and keynotes. We are happy to have collected new inspiring experiences and hope we can meet with the HRI community as soon as possible again!
13.03.2025
On March 13, we had the honor of welcoming the regional board of the SPD senior organization 60plus from Ostwestfalen. As part of the meeting, the members learned about the latest possibilities and trends in technological support for everyday life and care.
Particularly enriching was the lively exchange, which sparked numerous exciting discussions. The board members contributed valuable insights and perspectives, shedding light on both the potential and challenges of modern technologies in the field of senior care.
We sincerely thank them for this profound dialogue, which not only provided us with new ideas but also valuable impulses for the future development of this important area.
13.03.2025
We are excited to share our work on AURORA! AURORA is a software platform that facilitates the scalable deployment of robot simulations over the Internet for the human-robot interaction (HRI) community.
With an open-source approach, user-friendly operation and the ability to be hosted locally, AURORA aims to tackle typical problems such as costly hardware and limited pools of participants. Accompanying the platform, Phillip Richter has published the code paper “AURORA: A Platform for Advanced User-driven Robotics Online Research and Assessment”, which describes functionality and purpose in detail. Further information, a Github link and a video explaining AURORA can be found here on our website!
03.03.2025
We are pleased to announce that Anna-Lisa Vollmer will be attending the 1st German Robotics Conference in Nuremberg from 13 to 15 March 2025. Organised by the Robotics Institute Germany, the conference aims to promote dialogue between research and industry in Germany while contributing to the international discourse on robotics.
We are contributing to the conference with a video showcasing our work in the "Mobirobot" project, which explores the use of humanoid robots in physiotherapy for children. Additionally, the ReMeMoMi-project on quantifying and reducing the mismatch between human mental models and robots will be featured as well as AURORA, a platform for deploying web based robotic simulations.
Further information on the conference can be found on the official website of the Robotics Institute Germany.
02.03.2025
Phillip Richter and Robin Helmert will be attending the 20th International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction (HRI) in Melbourne to present their research findings and engage in discussions with the international robotics community, both sharing and gaining new insights. From March 4 to 6, they will be at the Melbourne Convention Center to explore the latest developments in research and showcase their own progress.
Phillip will be presenting the code paper "AURORA: A Platform for Advanced User-driven Robotics Online Research and Assessment" on Wednesday, March 5 at 13:00 in Session 5B: Robot Design. AURORA is a tool for deploying web based robotic simulations and conducting online interaction studies, offering a resource-efficient solution for human-robot interaction research through its user-friendly design and open-source approach.
Meanwhile, Robin will present the paper "Semantic Trajectory Segmentation and Comparison for Robot Demonstration Learning with Different Input Devices in Virtual Reality" on the same day at 14:35 in the Exhibits 3 Late Breaking Reports session, which explores the effects of different input methods on machine learning in virtual reality environments.
We hope they have a productive exchange of ideas and return with exciting experiences!
24.02.2025
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We are excited that Robin Helmert’s paper, “Semantic Trajectory Segmentation and Comparison for Robot Demonstration Learning with Different Input Devices in Virtual Reality”, has been accepted for the 20th Annual ACM/IEEE International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction (HRI 2025)! The conference, themed “Robots for a Sustainable World”, will take place from March 4 to 6 in Melbourne, Australia. Robin will present the paper on-site and discuss the research findings with the scientific community.
The paper was co-written by Kira Loos and Anna-Lisa Vollmer and explores how different input devices and visualization methods influence the quality of motion data for robot learning in a Virtual Reality study. If you would like to learn more about this research, feel free to check out the paper here!
January 7, 2025
On January 7, we had the pleasure of welcoming 30 students from the Health Communication program at Bielefeld University to our showroom Interactive Assistance Systems in Medicine and Care.
As part of a course that focuses on the introduction to e-health and the digitalization of healthcare, the showroom visit provided an opportunity to complement theoretical knowledge with hands-on experiences. The students were able to explore, test, and inquire about various technical assistance systems presented in the showroom.
We hope we were able to make the theoretical concepts of the course more tangible and engaging, and we sincerely thank the students for their keen interest and insightful discussions.
December 11, 2024
On December 11, we had the pleasure of welcoming Dirk Stößel, IT Director of the Synaxon Academy, along with other representatives, to our showroom Interactive Assistance Systems in Medicine and Care at the Faculty of Medicine, Bielefeld University.
The visit aimed to explore potential collaboration opportunities between the Synaxon Academy and Bielefeld University. The primary focus was on integrating selected showroom projects into Synaxon events, enriching their content while simultaneously increasing the visibility of Bielefeld University's research findings within the IT sector.
We appreciate the fruitful discussions and look forward to the opportunity to further bridge the gap between science and practice through continued collaboration.
December 04, 2024
On December 4, we had the pleasure of welcoming students from the University of Applied Sciences to the showroom Interactive Assistance in Medicine and Care. The visit was part of the seminar Social Work – Digitalization – Transformation, led by Udo Seelmeyer, Hannes Breder, and Judith Reuter, which focuses on internship support for social work students.
During their visit, the students actively explored and tested various technical assistance systems on display in the showroom. Among the exhibits, the Mobirobot NAO—a robot designed for use in pediatric physiotherapy—drew particular interest.
We appreciate the lively exchange and hope the students gained valuable insights that allow them to connect the theoretical aspects of their seminar with hands-on experiences.
November 24-27, 2024
We are excited to share that our paper titled “Reducing Mental Model Mismatch with Intention-Based Feedback in Human-Robot Teaching” was presented at this year's Human Agent Interaction (HAI) Conference in Swansea, UK! The results were shared by Phillip Richter, who planned and wrote the paper in collaboration with Anna-Lisa Vollmer and Heiko Wersing.
In the paper, we introduce the Mental Model Mismatch Score – an innovative approach to improving human-robot learning. This score helps align the human's mental model with the robot's learning process through intention-based feedback. We use large language models to analyze teaching intentions expressed in natural language and generate adaptive feedback. A study with 150 participants validated the effectiveness of our approach in enhancing human-robot collaboration. For further details, check out the paper!
November 21-22, 2024
Last week, our working group held a retreat at the Wassermühle Deppendorf in Bielefeld! The two days gave us the perfect opportunity to work on new ideas and strategies in a relaxed atmosphere. We set important milestones for our future work and grew even closer as a team.
A special highlight was the group walk to the nearby Peter August Böckstiegel Museum, which offered a refreshing break from our intensive work sessions.
We had many engaging conversations and are already looking forward to the next retreat!
November 20, 2024
On November 20th, we had the pleasure of welcoming Prof. Dr. Mayu Koike, Assistant Professor at Tokyo Institute of Technology in Japan, to our laboratories. Dr. Koike, whose research focuses on the psychological and cognitive mechanisms of anthropomorphism, is particularly interested in how strong attachments to virtual agents can be formed and the potential benefits these agents may have for psychological well-being. Her visit served as an opportunity for scientific exchange, and we were more than happy to show her around our laboratories.
Prof. Dr. Anna-Lisa Vollmer had the honor of leading a tour through our laboratories and providing Dr. Koike with insights into our projects. Dr. Koike was introduced to our research projects, including Mobirobot, B05, AI4self, and the VR project on co-constructed robot learning. Our projects were presented by the researchers and employees involved: Helen Beierling presented B05, Robin Helmert introduced Co-Constructive Tasklearning in VR, Maximilian Noller showcased Mobirobot, and Mathis Tibbe presented AI4self.
Dr. Koike also had the opportunity to try out some of our technologies herself, such as the virtual kitchen of our VR project and exercise activities with the small robot from the Mobirobot project.
We are grateful for the exchange and the opportunity to conduct the lab tour, and we hope to welcome Dr. Koike back to our research group in the near future.
November 18-19, 2024
At the SAIL Retreat 2024 this week in Bad Sassendorf, we had the chance to connect with fellow researchers and discuss current AI challenges from a variety of perspectives. There’s a lot happening at Campus OWL!
We were especially inspired by the interdisciplinary projects in Medicine from our neighboring teams. From tackling wrong blood-in-tube errors to exploring acceptance and exclusion in human-technology interactions and integrating medical expert knowledge into machine learning models, these projects are truly exciting and deserve your attention! Check them out at the SAIL Website!
In addition to our working group members—Kira Loos, Mara Brandt, and Anna-Lisa Vollmer—the retreat brought together many other participants, including Axel Schneider, Benjamin Paaßen, Thorsten Jungeblut, Barbara Hammer, Hanna Drimalla, Philipp Cimiano, Volker Lohweg, Axel Ngonga, Valeriia Tykhonenko, Wolfram Schenck, Martin Kohlhase, and many more.
There was lively exchange throughout the event, with plenty of opportunities to meet new faces and plan exciting interdisciplinary collaborations.
We’re looking forward to what comes next!
November 11-14, 2024
Medica 2024, held from November 11th to 14th at the Düsseldorf fairgrounds, once again offered fascinating insights into the future of medicine. Anna-Lisa Vollmer and Isabel Klemme were also present, testing the latest technologies, engaging in discussions, and exchanging ideas with exhibitors and visitors about the newest innovations in healthcare. Numerous representatives from clinics, research institutions, and the medical technology industry took the opportunity to learn about innovative technologies and to network.
In the exhibition halls, visitors could experience the innovative power of the medical sector up close. Cutting-edge technologies were presented, including robotic arms for precise interventions, virtual reality glasses for patient care, and AI-powered diagnostic systems that could make diagnoses faster and more accurate. The atmosphere was full of inspiration and new ideas, clearly demonstrating the potential of these technologies.
While some of the showcased innovations still face challenges in practical implementation, the fair was marked by strong optimism. Particularly noteworthy was the willingness and commitment of practitioners to actively shape this transformation. More and more professionals are working to integrate innovative solutions into everyday clinical practice and to drive the transformation of the healthcare system. Medica 2024 has shown that we are all part of this positive change, and that the coming years will bring exciting developments and lasting improvements for medical practice!
November 13, 2024
There is an upcoming Frontiers Topic on 'Interactive Robots for Healthcare and Participation'! Together with Dr. Sebastian Schneider (University of Twente), Dr. David Silvera-Tawil (Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO)), Dr. Ann Majewicz Fey (The University of Texas at Austin), we are bringing key researchers together in this Research Topic hosted in Frontiers in Robotics and AI: Impact Factor: 2.9, Cite Score: 6.5. The topic closes on 13 May 2025. Interested?
October 31, 2024
Our paper, "Decoding Engagement: The Role of Closeness Cues in Human-Robot Interactions," has now been published as part of the RO-MAN '24 proceedings!
In this paper, we present our system that analyzes whether a person is willing to interact with the system, using heuristics derived from literature. To do this, camera images are evaluated, and various non-verbal cues such as gaze behavior, posture, proxemics, orientation, and displayed emotions are analyzed. The accompanying study was conducted and successfully evaluated on the temi robot!
The paper’s authors are Kira Loos, Mara Brandt, and Anna-Lisa Vollmer.
October 14, 2024
We’re excited to share the successful organization of the “Interactive Robots and AI for Healthcare” (IRAIH) workshop at this year’s IROS 2024 in Abu Dhabi. This event was made possible through the efforts of Anna-Lisa Vollmer, Sebastian Schneider, Carlos Cifuentes, and Marcela Munera, bringing together experts to discuss transformative developments in robotics and AI in healthcare!
The workshop featured keynote speakers Fady Alnajjar, Munkhjargal Gochoo, Sami Haddadin, Zen Koh, and Shingo Shimoda, each sharing valuable insights into the potential of interactive robots and AI to foster personalized care, boost patient engagement, and optimize treatments. Key themes included cutting-edge machine learning algorithms, natural language processing, affective computing, and intelligent user interfaces—tools that are essential for developing more intuitive, responsive healthcare technologies.
October 3, 2024
We are excited to announce the publication of our latest journal article titled “What You Need to Know About a Learning Robot: Identifying the Enabling Architecture of Complex Systems.” This work presents a methodical approach to systematically identify the missing and misunderstood concepts in complex systems that need to be clarified or explained to help lay users interact with these systems more effectively.
The paper explores key challenges in human-robot interaction and provides insights into how we can improve the accessibility and usability of advanced robotic systems by demystifying their underlying architectures.
This work, will be published in Cognitive Systems Research, was authored by Helen Beierling, Phillip Richter, Mara Brandt, Lutz Terfloth, Carsten Schulte, Heiko Wersing and Anna-Lisa Vollmer, and is featured in Volume 88, December 2024.
September 28-29, 2024
We are excited to announce that Robin Helmert and Team Avocado secured an impressive third place at the Hackathon of the VR Summit 2024! Within just 24 hours, they developed an innovative VR game, powered by real-time EEG data from a Brain-Computer Interface (BCI) and optimized using Artificial Intelligence (AI). This creative and technical achievement was rewarded with a prize of 500€!
The hackathon, held at the O-Werk in Bochum, provided an inspiring platform for advancing future technologies in the field of Virtual Reality. The challenge of developing a fully functioning VR application within a day demonstrated the exciting combination of Brain-Computer Interfaces and AI, as well as the growing potential in human-machine interaction.
We warmly congratulate Robin and his team on this fantastic achievement at VR Summit 2024!
September 24, 2024
As part of Bielefeld's Eingeloggt! week, we had the exciting opportunity to organize a workshop on the topic "Ihre Daten im Blick: Sicher und informiert im digitalen Alltag". Led by Kira Loos and Aiko Galetzka, participants embarked on a journey through the world of social media, exploring the issue of "Datenkraken" – companies and platforms that aim to collect as much information about us as possible. How valuable is our data, really? And how can we protect ourselves from massive data collection? These and many other questions were actively discussed during the session.
September 18, 2024
At the opening event of Eingeloggt! week in the Wissenswerkstatt, Kira Loos and Aiko Galetzka had the opportunity to present the Mobirobot project and engage with participants in discussions about the opportunities and risks of digitalization. The enthusiastic questions from the attendees were particularly rewarding, leading to exciting and inspiring discussions. These conversations not only enriched the project itself but also provided our team with new perspectives on potential applications for the Sport-NAO.
Eingeloggt! week offers a platform for a wide range of topics related to digitalization. From September 18 to 25, around 70 practical workshops will take place, focusing primarily on answering participants' questions, following the motto "Learning by doing."
August 26-30, 2024
Prof. Dr. Anna-Lisa Vollmer and Kira Loos had the pleasure of attending RO-MAN 24 in Pasadena! The conference was filled with exciting presentations and offered numerous opportunities for exchanges with experts from around the world.
The event's theme, "Embracing Human-Centered HRI", was explored over five days through keynote speeches, presentations on new paper publications, poster sessions, and hands-on workshops. We were able to make many new connections and exchange insights on the latest techniques in human-robot interaction, which provided our research group with valuable new perspectives for our work.
July 17, 2024
On 27.09.2024 we are giving a workshop for Eingeloggt! Bielefeld with the topic ‘Ihre Daten im Blick – Sicher und informiert im digitalen Alltag’! The offer is aimed specifically at people over 50 and provides interactive information about data theft, the value of our data and how we can protect ourselves from the improper use of our data!
July 15, 2024
Helen Beierling received the Best Student Paper Award at the RSS 2024 Conference Workshop on Mechanisms for Mapping Human Input to Robots in Delft! Her award-winning paper, “Advancing Human-Robot Collaboration: The Impact of Flexible Input Mechanisms,” explores how enhancing the number and flexibility of input mechanisms in user-robot interactions can improve learning algorithms through user feedback.
July 05, 2024
Prof. Anna-Lisa Vollmer was a guest at the event „Künstliche Intelligenz im Gesundheitswesen – Chancen und Risiken für die regionale Versorgung“ and discussed AI solutions in the healthcare system with the other guests. At the event organized by the Zentrum für Innovation in der Gesundheitswirtschaft Ostwestfalen-Lippe, pioneering projects from the OWL region were presented, which were intended to improve the care of the population and show possible future prospects.
Among other things, the Mobirobot project was presented, which aims to help children with depression, for example, to enjoy exercise and sport again and is currently being evaluated in care institutions.
June 20, 2024
We, the working groups Medical Assistance Systems and Robotics in Medicine and Care, had the honor to welcome Londa Schiebinger (Stanford) and Sabine Oertelt-Prigione in our showroom! We would like to thank our guests for the interesting discussions about gender research, women in science and robots, and look forward to future discussions and collaborations!
June 17, 2024
Our paper titled "Advancing Human-Robot Collaboration: The Impact of Flexible Input Mechanisms" was accepted and will be presented at the RSS2024!
May 26, 2024
Our paper titled "Decoding Engagement: The Role of Closeness Cues in Human-Robot Interactions" was accepted and will be presented at the 𝐈𝐄𝐄𝐄 𝐑𝐎-𝐌𝐀𝐍 2024!
April 22, 2024
Together into the future: The working groups Medical Assistance Systems and Interactive Robotics in Medicine and Care welcome proWerk Bethel to their showroom
On April 22, we, the Medical Assistance Systems and Interactive Robotics in Medicine and Care working groups, had the pleasure of welcoming proWerk Bethel to our “Interactive Assistance in Medicine and Care” showroom! The aim of the exchange was to promote cooperation for current and future collaboration. We also gained an insight into the everyday lives of proWerk Bethel employees, were able to exchange experiences and learn where there is a need for improvement in technological support.
proWerk Bethel, an institution dedicated to the empowerment of people with disabilities, was invited to learn about and try out various technological innovations designed to improve care services.
Highlights of the demonstration included Paro, the therapeutic seal that impresses in dementia care by promoting emotional interaction and reducing stress.
Furthermore, our advanced and accessible chatbot, which is operated on a local machine with ChatGPT technology, was a major attraction at the event. This tool was explicitly developed for use in sensitive settings and, thanks to voice input and the local version, enables use in a clinical context in which accessibility and data security play a central role.
Another featured exhibit was the Mobirobot, a NAO robot designed to engage children in physical activities within a clinical setting. It performs a range of sports exercises, incorporates regular breaks, and encourages the children to mimic its movements. In our showroom, the Mobirobot also showcased its capabilities and invited our guests to join in.
In addition, our visitors were able to test a VR headset, which is used, among other things, to experience immersive medical training environments and further develop the clinical skills of trainees.
Furthermore, the employees could test the ADHD trainer Flobi, which was developed in cooperation with the child and adolescent psychiatry department and will soon be used in a pilot project in one of the proWerk facilities.
The visit was a successful exchange of ideas for our common goal of promoting inclusion and support for disadvantaged groups in everyday life and healthcare. We look forward to future collaborations and would like to express our sincere thanks for the valuable opportunity to exchange ideas!
April 30, 2024
On April 30, an article by Ludmilla Ostermann about our showroom was published on the university's website!
February 02, 2024
Showroom officially opened!
On February 2nd, 2024, the showroom of the working groups for medical assistance systems and interactive robotics was ceremoniously opened together with colleagues and friends.
In the showroom "interactive assistance in medicine and care" located in the premises of the Medical Faculty, high-tech assistance systems can be experienced. With changing exhibitions, commercial products as well as current research prototypes are presented.
The aim of the showroom is to get to know a wide range of different technical support systems, to be able to try them out and thus, among other things, to reduce barriers.
In the future, changing exhibits on the topics of "prevention", "everyday assistance", "rehabilitation and therapy" will be displayed. It aims to provide insights into the explainability of decision support systems and into the development of prototypes through co-design.
September 22, 2023
Prof. Dr. Anna-Lisa Vollmer and Prof. Dr. Britta Wrede gave an invited talk at the International Research Center for Neurointelligence
Invited by Prof. Yukie Nagai, head of the Cognitive Developmental Robotics Lab at Tokyo University, Anna-Lisa Vollmer and Britta Wrede presented their ongoing research to an international audience of researchers from the International Research Center for Neurointelligence. With the foundation in cognitive developmental research, their current research projects are well aligned towards providing insights and support for people with chronical diseases and need for support.
September 11-15, 2023
Robin Helmert and Manuel Scheibl participated in EASE Fall School
As associated members of the SFB “EASE” at Bremen University, Robin Helmert and Manuel Scheibl participated at the EASE Fall School from 11. to 15. September in Bremen. They deepened their insights in the Robot Motion Framework PyCram, the SOMA Ontology of Socio-physical Activity Models for Robots and the OpenEASE service. Special highlights were the talks by renowned international robotics researchers such as Agnieszka Wykowska, Giulio Sandini (both from IIT, Genova, Italy), Erols Sahin (Middle EAST Technical University), and Daniel Leidner (DLR).