Objectives of the service
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Describe in less than 200 words the objectives of the service, i.e. what are the key problems of the users, what is the solution you intend to provide and how will you provide it. Please describe also the objectives of the activity (Study or Project). Avoid the use of phrases like “The objective is to investigate the technical feasibility and economic viability...”. Restrict the use of acronyms and make sure there are spelled out at first occurrence.
Users and their needs
Yuman addresses the major challenge in the European healthcare systems, the shortage of nurses. Yuman’s robots assist nurses by automating the transport of equipment in hospitals, like food, medical equipment or lab samples. The robots are currently assisting nurses with the transport of medical equipment in two Danish hospitals. Yuman targets departments who are under pressure because of the nurse shortage, worldwide.
Service/ system concept
SNA supports the transformation of the healthcare system by introducing automated, autonomous operating solutions to increase the efficiency, flexibility and agility in hospitals, and specifically addressing the major challenge in the European healthcare systems, the shortage of nurses. It will free up valuable nursing time, thus improving the time available to care about the patients.
The SNA provides an unmanned medical equipment delivery robot service, to effectively lower the pressure on the nurses and other healthcare personnel by taking over some of the time-consuming tasks of delivering items and equipment between departments of hospitals, nursing homes and similar healthcare institutions.
Space Added Value
The SNA robot integrates GNSS and visual navigations, enabling it to work seamlessly within hospital buildings as well as outside between buildings. The GNSS satellite navigation guides the robot safely in real-time when operating and manoeuvring in open areas. It is integrated with visual navigation algorithms for safe indoor movements to secure seamless indoor-outdoor transitions.
Current Status
With this ESA Demonstration project, “BUDDY: Smart Nurse Assistants,” Yuman aims to take Buddy to the next level by fully maturing it into a market-ready product. The primary focus of this project is to extend Buddy’s operational capabilities beyond indoor environments, allowing it to navigate outdoor spaces and autonomously transport items between different buildings within a healthcare facility.
We have conducted initial tests in simulation, and mapping was performed at the customer site to analyze the outdoor environment’s navigability and assess GNSS signal reliability. Preliminary results confirmed the feasibility of extending Buddy’s path planning and localization stack to semi-structured outdoor hospital settings. This foundation will support further development of terrain adaptation, obstacle handling, and continuous GNSS-IMU fusion. The upcoming phases will focus on real-world outdoor trials, interface refinement with hospital logistics systems, and user validation in multi-building workflows.
