Reimagining Elderly Care in an Aging Europe
Across Europe, we’re living longer; a triumph of healthcare and quality of life. But this demographic success brings a mounting challenge: growing demand for elderly care, often outpacing the availability of professional caregivers. The result? Strained systems, overworked staff, and loneliness among seniors.
How can we ensure every individual receives high-quality, personalized care — while also supporting the well-being of caregivers?
That’s the mission behind CORA (Collaborative Robotics Application for Elderly Care), an experiment proudly supported by ARISE. Rather than replacing human caregivers, CORA empowers them with a next-generation multimodal robotic assistant.
In a collaborative effort between Prytanis and 4i, we’re introducing a smart system that listens, observes, and adapts. By integrating voice, gesture recognition, and real-time data from wearables and IoT devices, CORA’s robots become sensitive, responsive allies in care settings.
CORA delivers support across four core domains:
- Enhanced Security: Continuous health monitoring and fall detection trigger instant alerts.
- Personalized Physiotherapy: Adaptive robotic guidance for exercise routines keeps residents active and mobile.
- Engaging Interaction: Through contextual conversations, robots offer companionship, reducing loneliness.
- Seamless Integration: Thanks to open standards, CORA fits effortlessly into existing care systems.
At CORA, our vision aligns with the principles of Industry 5.0: people-first innovation. For residents, this means personalized attention — from gentle medication reminders to meaningful conversation. For caregivers, it means more time for empathetic care, fewer repetitive tasks, and reduced burnout.
By automating routine monitoring and providing intuitive interaction, CORA creates space for what matters most: human connection.
An Open-Source Contribution to the ARISE Vision
CORA is proud to contribute to the open-source future of robotics through reusable ROS2-based skills. These are designed to be modular, hardware-agnostic, and interoperable — ready for adaptation across multiple use cases.
Key components include:
- ROS2 Vulcanexus for seamless data flow.
- ROS4HRI enabling natural, intuitive interactions.
- FIWARE providing real-time IoT integration and data visualization.
Together, these technologies create a solid, future-proof foundation for collaborative robotics in care.
The potential for CORA is immense. Europe’s elderly care sector includes tens of thousands of institutions, representing over €1 Billion annually — and up to €6 Billion with home care expansion.
Our partners are ready:
- Prytanis, the end-user, expects operational gains and new service models.
- 4i plans a tiered subscription model with projected revenue of €8.7 Million by Year 3.
Beyond market figures, CORA brings societal benefits — from job creation in AI and robotics to alignment with the European Green Deal through reuse of existing tech and energy-efficient solutions.
CORA is a real-world example of how human-centric AI and robotics can address urgent societal needs while enhancing lives. Join us as we build a more compassionate, connected future in healthcare — one conversation, one connection, one robot at a time.