What is GARMI able to do? 

GARMI is designed to support people in the areas of communication, everyday life (household help) and health. Initially, it will be used in care facilities to assist with routine and service tasks such as serving, bringing medication and tidying up. In addition, Garmi can carry out telemedical examinations on people under the control of a doctor: Ultrasound, palpation, auscultation. 

What's new with GARMI? 

The GARMI robot is increasingly becoming a universal care assistant for every day: a generative AI model enables GARMI to take over telemedical applications, physiotherapy or care tasks as required. Neural networks help GARMI to precisely recognize and grasp objects. GARMI shows that it can directly combine different skills and support people throughout the day. Thanks to its digital twin, artificial intelligence and ChatGPT, the robotic assistant takes over nursing tasks, brings water and breakfast to the bed in the morning, arranges conversations with doctors, enables telemedical examinations and helps with rehabilitation exercises and getting out of bed. Many development steps are necessary before a new function is available at GARMI. The technology must be absolutely reliable and safe, as it is used in an environment with people. GARMI processes information at a speed of one millisecond. This applies equally to perception, interaction and navigation. The force sensors of the robot arms register the slightest touch and react immediately. If a person accidentally collides with the robot arm, it stops within a millisecond for safety reasons. To avoid accidents, humans and robots initially meet as digital twins in a virtual environment during the development phase. This is necessary because the assistance robot can theoretically reach speeds of up to 20 km/h in a care home. In the computer simulation, GARMI uses the Safety Motion Unit's sensors to register when a person comes too close and moves more slowly. If the person moves away, it speeds up again.

What is currently being developed at GARMI? 

At a later stage, GARMI will become a complete assistance robot in its own home, helping people with everything from opening doors to detecting emergencies. The aim is to enable people to live as long and safely as possible in their own homes. Researchers are currently working on a variety of GARMI's tasks, including the robot's grip strength, voice control, taking over documentation tasks in care or deciding whether and if so which voice GARMI should be given.

What is GARMI not allowed to do? 

The person being assisted by GARMI should decide for themselves what GARMI should and should not do for them. Everything GARMI does requires an input, a command from the person or people controlling it. The only automatism that GARMI will have programmed is that of emergency detection and the ability to call for help immediately.

Why do we need GARMI in care? 

Because there will be many more people in need of care in the future than is already the case today. By 2055, there will be up to 6.78 million people (source: Federal Statistical Office). At the same time, we have an increasing shortage of skilled nursing staff.

Should GARMI care for people? 

As a robotic assistance system, GARMI is NOT intended to take over the care of a person, but to support care staff in their work in the best possible way by providing useful assistance. This gives them more time to devote to and care for people. However, we are also working with GARMI to ensure that older people can be supported in their independence at home by the assistance system if they wish, so that they can live there safely and independently for longer.

Is GARMI taking care staff's jobs? 

Absolutely not. Due to an ageing population and the ongoing shortage of skilled workers in the care sector, there is an urgent need for relief and support - also to make the profession more attractive again. One possible solution is assistance robots such as GARMI.

What does GARMI cost? 

GARMI is the result of a great deal of research and countless hours of work. As a currently existing one-off, it is not for sale. Of course, our aim is for GARMI to be able to work in care facilities and later also in private households. It is not yet possible to estimate how much it will cost and it depends on the subsidies from health and care insurance companies, which are still to be negotiated. As soon as GARMI is ready for series production, its acquisition costs will decrease. The more GARMIs there are, the cheaper they will be to buy.

Whenn will GARMI be ready? 

A market-ready certification for GARMI cannot yet be specified. We have set ourselves the goal that it will be ready for use in nursing care with its initial capabilities in six to ten years. Until then, we will work with nursing staff to specify its capabilities and respond to their needs as to how exactly GARMI should support them. And this is precisely why the campus is so useful and important: here we can drive forward GARMI's development, tested in practice, right next door to the care sector. However, it will be much longer before it can be purchased privately for the home.

Why does GARMI's development take so long? 

GARMI can already perform more different tasks than other robots, which are mostly used in care settings to entertain older people or provide services. We conduct basic research here at the Geriatronics Research Center and publish all our findings so that they can be used by others. What you often see on social media are advertising results of impressive development work on robots by foreign companies. However, we usually only see one outstanding singular characteristic of the robot - e.g. walking off-road or lifting people. What we don't see and don't know: How its entire capabilities adapt to life for and with us. Above all, we know nothing about safety and ethics in dealing with them. For us, on the other hand, these aspects come first. A GARMI is only absolutely safe and careful.

Why is TUM involved here in Garmisch-Partenkirchen? 

The idea of creating a scientific campus here arose from the coming together of exactly the right partners and personalities with the right expertise in the right place at the right time. TUM shapes technological progress for people and society. As the AI Mission Institute, MIRMI aims to put its research findings into practice. Here at the Geriatronics Research Center in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, we have the unique opportunity to bring our research door to door with the right partners and put it to practical use. In addition, the average age of the population in Garmisch-Partenkirchen is significantly older than the national average, which means that there is a good infrastructure for care and health. An ideal starting point.

What exactly will you be able to study in this research area? 

We are planning two study programs: a Master of Geriatronics and a study program for the management of new technologies in healthcare. The start of teaching at the TUM Campus is planned for the winter semester 28/29 - but will then still be based in Munich.

How many students will come to Garmisch-Partenkirchen? 

The number of students will gradually increase. Probably 50 to 150 in the first semesters, but a few years later it could be up to 300. Of course, we are aware of the tight housing market and are working together with the Garmisch-Partenkirchen market to find solutions for affordable housing. In addition, due to the campus's good connection to the Deutsche Bahn, it is to be expected that some of the students will commute.