Desirable Red Dot Design Award for Care-O-bot® 4

The design of the Care-O-bot® 4 reflects its functionalities. (Source: Fraunhofer IPA)

The arms continue the clear lines of the torso and are particularly mobile due to the ball joints. (Source: Fraunhofer IPA)

Three individually driven and steerable wheels under the platform make the robot agile even in tight spaces. (Source: Fraunhofer IPA)

A characteristic figure with a slender form and clear lines: This is how the new generation of service robot Care-O-bot® presents itself. The product design has delighted this year's jury of the Red Dot Design Awards: they awarded Care-O-bot® 4 their renowned prize. The award is also a recognition for the employees of Fraunhofer IPA. Over three years, they worked under the leadership of Ulrich Reiser on the technology and appearance of the service robot to best combine functionality and design.

The Red Dot Design Award: Product Design has been awarded for 60 years as part of a globally recognized design competition for products in various categories. According to the organizer, nearly 2000 participants from 56 countries submitted 4928 products this year. The jury includes experts and journalists as well as design professors from 25 nations. They evaluate the product innovations based on criteria such as degree of innovation, functionality, and symbolic or emotional content.

Care-O-bot® 4 is »best of the best«

Among the submissions, only 1.6 percent received the highest recognition »best of the best« this year — the Care-O-bot® 4, developed by Fraunhofer IPA in cooperation with the company Schunk, is among them and receives the award for its design quality and pioneering styling. For the team around Ulrich Reiser, this is a special joy and »rewards our intensive development work over the past three years«, says Reiser. The winners will receive their award during a gala at the Essen Opera House on June 29, 2015.

The IPA scientists developed the exterior of Care-O-bot® 4 together with the Stuttgart design studio Phoenix Design. Managing Director Andreas Haug is proud of the award: »The highly esteemed recognition is very encouraging and confirms us in striving for top performance.« An appealing appearance is especially important for a service robot that shares its work environment with humans, as it is only accepted by users in this way. The design impresses with its clear lines and timeless aesthetics.

The structure of Care-O-bot® 4 also follows a modular concept. Thanks to easily interchangeable modules, it can be configured according to usage requirements: for example, as a mobile platform with transport attachments in hospital, hotel, or office environments, with one or two arms for simple handling and pickup and delivery tasks, or with the movable head as an interactive kiosk for public spaces. In any case, the design gives the robot a distinctive and friendly appearance.

Convincingly combining design and functionality

Overall, the robot is oriented towards the human model, without creating false expectations through an overly similar appearance. Screen, torso, arms, and the movable platform precisely reflect the functionalities that the robot can fulfill. It can communicate via the screen. The torso joint developed at IPA enables bending. The two arms are particularly flexible thanks to their special Powerball joints from Schunk. Beneath the round platform are the three wheels, which are individually driven and steerable for navigation in tight spaces.

What has emerged is an agile and well-thought-out gentleman, currently serving as a research platform. Looking ahead, the scientists aim for commercial applications, for which the fourth generation of the service robot with this award could not be more charming. Starting in summer, the system will be available for purchase in various configurations.