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Robotics in Healthcare Challenge: Apply now for the KUKA Innovation Award 2022

The KUKA Innovation Award is going into the next round. In 2022, everything revolves around the "Robotics in Healthcare Challenge". Researchers, developers, and young entrepreneurs from all over the world can now submit their concepts for the €20,000 prize.

July 20, 2021


Since 2014, and thus for the 9th time, KUKA has presented the Innovation Award to young research teams. The aim of the competition is to promote and accelerate the transfer of technology from research to industry. Each year, the focus is on different technologies. This time, new solutions for the healthcare sector are being sought: 

Dr. Kristina Wagner Image

New technologies are playing an increasingly important role in healthcare and will be almost indispensable in the future. We are addressing this dynamic development with our Robotics in Healthcare Challenge: We are looking forward to ideas around diagnosis, rehab and treatments in the health and care sector. Innovative concepts combined with the latest KUKA products and solutions - this exciting combination opens up new possibilities.

Dr. Kristina Wagner, Vice President Corporate Research

A renowned jury selects the finalists

Research teams from all over the world can submit their ideas for the "Robotics in Healthcare Challenge" until January 07, 2022. An international jury of experts will evaluate the concepts and select five finalists. In addition to KUKA experts, the jury members include renowned professors and specialists in the field of robotics as well as experts from the med-tech sector.


In the next step, the best five teams will implement their ideas with a KUKA LBR Med - the first collaborative robot specifically certified for integration into a medical device. The final teams will be provided with the KUKA robot and a vision system from Roboception, consisting of a stereo sensor and associated software modules, free of charge for at least six months. 

The Munich-based company Roboception is an expert in innovative 3D perception solutions. It combines classical and AI-based methods to enable robotic systems to perceive their environment in real time - enabling the robots to see, so to speak. In this way, the robots can be used in a wide variety of application areas. In addition, the finalists receive training and coaching from KUKA experts throughout the competition. 

KUKA provides the finalists with the collaborative LBR Med free of charge to implement their ideas.

The final of the Innovation Award will take place at the MEDICA medical trade fair in November 2022. There, the final teams will present their applications to a large professional audience from industry and research as well as media representatives and investors. The winning team can also look forward to a prize money of €20,000.

KUKA Innovation Award 2022

You can find all information about the application here

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