We would like to sincerely thank you for participating in the PYNT event “The Future of Care with Socially Assistive Robots,” which took place on September 24, 2024, at TalTech’s Mektory Innovation Lab. Your presence and active engagement contributed to the success of the event and the valuable discussions and exchange of ideas. The event covered important topics related to the use of socially assistive robots in healthcare and elderly care. We would especially like to highlight our panel discussion, where leading experts in the field shared their knowledge: Kadi Lubi, Kitty Kubo, Liina Harjus-Soostar, Kristina Pärnaste and Merelle Tammann. Their expertise and practical examples provided a deep insight into the potential impact of this technology on the future of care and social interaction.

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Modern technologies and Scandinavian history, that’s what the EdTech Estonia workshop is all about.
The pseudo-historic location Viikingite küla (Viking’s village) was chosen as the venue. Since Janika Leoste was in Spain at the time of the seminar, she took part in it with the help of a telepresence robot; a method which became rather a commonplace than an exception in our team. The EdTech project is dedicated to the development of educational technologies in Estonia and Janika shared her thoughts on the possibilities of cooperation and financing of educational projects.

TalTech IT Didactics Research Group and Pihlakodu AS started a collaboration within the AIRE (AI & Robotics Estonia) demoproject, where the usage scenarios of the TEMI robot as an activity supervisor are designed to improve the well-being of the elderly in nursing homes, the necessary application is adapted for this purpose and it is validated as a solution to assist the activity supervisors in the daily work of Viimsi and Tabasalu nursing homes. The main goal of the project is to increase the well-being of bedridden clients by offering them an additional means of obtaining information and socializing and to test the possibility of reducing the challenges caused by the lack of nursing home staff, especially in the care of the elderly who need a more personal approach. On the 1st of August under the leadership of research team leader Janika Leoste, a training session on the use of the TEMI robot was held for the employees of Viimsi and Tabasalu Pihlakodu, where the general capabilities of TEMI and the application created for the nursing home were introduced.

The artificial intelligence and robotics center AIRE (EDIH) is financed by the European Digital Innovation Centers sub-programme of the Digital Europe Program and the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications (Project no.: 101083677)

What would a robotic arm in the middle of a kitchen remind you of? Joi from “Blade Runner 2049”? “There Will Come Soft Rains” cartoon? No, it’s a robotics lab in Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München.

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This year annual geriatronics summit took place in the most picturesque location one can imagine - in Garmisch-Partenkirchen. The conference in traditionally accompanied by the trade exhibition, where industry representatives demonstrate their latest products and developments. And we had more than one reson to attend.

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In June 2024 Fuad Budagov attended Salamanca Tech Summit to present his latest article titled “A Systematic Literature Review on the Applicability of Robot Assistants in Higher Education” that he co-authored with Janika Leoste, Mohammad Tariq Meeran, and Tarmo Robal on a Conference on Methodologies and Intelligent Systems for Technology Enhanced Learning (MIS4TEL)

This summit took place at the Palacio de Congresos de Salamanca in June 26-28 and transformed Salamanca into a hub of technological innovation, featuring experts from top companies. As Fuad put it later on, “it was inspiring to be among leading minds discussing the latest advancements in educational technology, artificial intelligence, and more. The discussions and feedback we received were invaluable, providing new insights and perspectives on our research. Additionally, networking with peers and industry leaders has opened up potential collaborations for future projects. Overall, it was a rewarding experience that highlighted the important role of technology in enhancing education”.