The Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment (CGA) is a diagnostic instrument designed to collect data on the medical, psychosocial and functional resources and problems of elderly patients. The information gathered is used to create a plan for treatment and followup. Currently, CGA is performed by social and clinical professionals involved in the care of elderly people: physiotherapists, occupational therapists, nurses, social workers, psychologists, medical doctors, etc. The goal of utilizing a robot to control and to conduct the geriatric tests is to reduce the amount of time medical professionals spend on taking tests and thereby enable them to invest this time oncare planning decisions. In order to master this challenge, multi-institutional consortia or development teams will need to apply for funding in a competitive process in order to develop prototypes according to the needs of the public bodies.
The aim of ECHORD++ (European Clearing House for Open Robotics Development Plus Plus) is to strengthen the knowledge transfer between scientific research, industry and users in robotics and to stimulate their cooperation. The EU-funded project with a runtime of five years (2013 - 2018) funds small-scale research projects called experiments, Public end-user Driven Technological Innovation (PDTI), and established Robotics Innovation Facilities (RIFs), open labs which provide state-of-the-art robotic hardware and software as well as scientific and technical support. ECHORD++ is a joint project of Technische Universität München (project coordinator), Blue Ocean Robotics, Bristol Robotics Laboratory, Commissariat à l’Énergie Atomique et aux Énergies Alternatives, R.U. Robots, Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna, TechnoDeal and Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya.
The idea behind Public end-user Driven Technological Innovation (PDTI) in ECHORD++ is to include public bodies in the robotic product development. By acting as technologically demanding first buyers, public procurers can drive innovation from the demand side and promote the transfer of robotic technology from research to the market. Since public bodies often have specific requirements for the products they use, ECHORD++ will strive to find the best way to integrate them in the product development process. This is to make sure that the product meets the requirements of the target group, technically and price-wise. Thus, ECHORD++ hopes to close the innovation gap between what is available on the market and the public sector's needs.
Closing date: 23rd June 2015
For further information about PDTI, please visit:
http://www.echord.eu/pdti/
E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Tel.: +49 89 289 18136
The project ECHORD++ is funded under EU’s Seventh Framework Programme for Research (FP7), Grant Agreement No. 601116.