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ERGONOMICS AND WORKERS RISK REDUCTION
VIA HUMANOID ROBOTS AND WEARABLES

Implementing ambient intelligence and collaborative robotics for risk prevention in work environments.

THE PROJECT

ergoCub is a project that develops technologies to catalyze the necessary digital transformation for reducing the number of musculoskeletal diseases related to biomechanical risk in future workers. This objective is pursued by developing wearable technologies, humanoid robots, and artificial intelligence while monitoring the acceptability of these technologies.

APPLICATION SCENARIOS

HEALTHCARE

  • Remotely monitor the health of people in real time and improve rehabilitation processes;
  • Assist health workers.

INDUSTRIAL

  • Improve industrial processes by minimizing the risk of injury from musculoskeletal disorders;

  • Collaborative tasks with workers

NEWS

ergoCub ON THE MAINSTAGE OF THE WMF
06/2024
We believe in responsible research, and reproducibility is one of our cornerstones. This is why - differently from many - we make live demos that are as challenging as important to testify that our research leads to results close to looming applications of AI and humanoid robotics. The video below shows three of our demonstrations that we made live at the WMF - We Make Future in front of about 1000 people, where we showed: 1. Our teleoperation system, with the operator in Genoa and the robot in Bologna, about 300 Km away; 2. The latest version of our iFeel wearable system; 3. Our latest results concerning the autonomy of the ergoCub
ITALIAN REPUBLIC CELEBRATION DAY IN WASHINGTON
06/2024
The ergocub project was invited at the Embassy of Italy in the US for the Festa della Repubblica 2024. It was an honour for us to receive guests like Merrick Garland of U.S. Department of Justice or Alessandro Gonzales - and many others - to whom we could show our humanoid robot ergoCub and our iFeel wearables enabled by artificial intelligence.
ergoCub AT SELECTING ITALY IN TRIESTE
04/2024
The ergoCub project was invited at Selecting Italy, the workshop organised by Conferenza delle Regioni e delle Province autonome that gathered the examples of Italian excellences: it was a pleasure to give a demonstration of the robot and the wearable iFeel technologies, along with a presentation by Alberto Ranavolo and Daniele Pucci.
ergoCub AT THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT
02/2024
It was an honor for us to present the ergoCub project with a live demonstration at the European Parliament during the workshop "Robotics and AI in the European Landscape".
GPAI SUMMIT AWARD
12/2023
The ergoCub project received the Responsible AI Change Maker award from the (G7-born) Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence (GPAI). The GPAI is an international initiative established to guide the responsible development and use of artificial intelligence (AI) in a manner that respects human rights and the shared democratic values of its members.
20 YEAR CELEBRATION OF IIT
09/2023
Over its first twenty years, our Institute has made significant contributions to the scientific development of the country through the development of groundbreaking research projects. IIT has gained prominence, thanks to the increasing number of researchers who have conducted their studies in our network of state-of-the-art laboratories across Italy. Our scientists have also played a vital role in fostering the continuous sharing of knowledge, demonstrating a commitment that has brought IIT and the world of research closer to the general public.
DW DOCUMENTARY - Will humans love AI robots?
08/2023
In this robot-focused documentary, Ingolf Baur had the opportunity to experience our iFeel wearable technology firsthand, and our iCub3 robot became his robotic avatar!
NOOS - ALBERTO ANGELA
06/2023
We participated in the third episode of Noos, and our ergoCub was in the studio with Alberto Angela and its operator. The show was broadcast on RAI 1, the Italian national TV channel. In the episode, we demonstrated an experiment that we conducted with the robot in a real working envirorment.
THE CNN TALK ABOUT US
06/2023
In a CNN report, our project's goal was explained: we're using robotics and wearable tech to make workplaces safer and reduce risks for workers. We're striving to bring practical changes to how we prevent accidents and enhance worker safety across different industries. It's all about making the workplace a safer, better place for everyone.
ergoCub ON REUTERS
06/2023
Our participation at ICRA 2023 in London was a significant milestone for us. Following our involvement in the event, Reuters took notice of our work and decided to dedicate a news story to us, highlighting our innovative contributions in the field of robotics.
ICRA 2023 - LONDON
05/2023
The IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA) is one of the premier conferences covering advances in robotics. We attended the conference in London with our ergoCub and teleoperated it from Italy. Our operator in Genoa was able to participate in the conference through the robot!
MADE IN INAIL
11/2022

We took part at the MADE IN INAIL Forum 2022, where we talked about our joint projects with Inail. In this event the President of the Italian Republic Sergio Mattarella shakes hand with iCub3.

ANA Avatar XPRIZE Finals
11/2022

XPRIZE is the world’s leader in designing and operating incentive competitions to solve humanity’s greatest challenges. We partecipated at ANA Avatar XPRIZE with our iCub3, that was the first one on the ranking in the specific category of walking humanoids. Fourteenth on the total ranking.

AMAZON PRIME: "James May: our man in Italy"
07/2022
You can find us and iCub3 in the fifth episode of James May: our man in Italy, which features fantastic places around Italy. James May, the host, wore the iFeel suit developed by ergoCub for human monitoring. The series quickly rose to first place in England and fifth in Italy.
EPISODE OF CODICE ON NATIONAL TV
07/2022

We were on RAI 1, in an episode of Codice, a series that talks about advanced technology and visit research centers abroad and in Italy.

EUROPEAN ROBOTIC FORUM, Rotterdam
06/2022

We participated in the European Robotic Forum (EFR), the most influential event in the field of robotics and artificial intelligence in Europe. Three days of interactive workshops and events, where engineers, academics, entrepreneurs and investors gather to discover new trends and discoveries.

WEB MARKETING FESTIVAL: metaverse and Robotics for innovation in the health sector.
06/2022
Daniele Pucci, Head of Artificial and Mechanical Intelligence of the Italian Institute of Technology, and the iCub 3 robot were guest at at the WMF 2022. Touch Topics such as the fields of use of humanoid robots and avatar robots, controlled remotely by humans, are covered, with a particular focus on the health sector. The iCub 3 robot then shows the WMF audience what it is capable of, while remotely piloted by the IIT operator.
ITALIAN EMBASSY IN PARIS
06/2022

We were invited as guests representatives of Italian excellence in the Italian embassy in Paris where we brought part of the technologies developed in ergoCub: teleoperation e wearable technologies for risk assessment biomechanical. The event took place on the Italian Republic Day, in the presence of ambassadors and part of the Franco-Italian community.

SPINE 4.0: innovation for the prevention and treatment of spinal pathologies.
04/2022

An important contribution to the prevention of disorders can come from the development of wearable sensor and robotic technologies, as well as the development of advanced biological technologies. An interactive demonstration was held during the event with the Italian Health Minister and the humanoid robot iCub3, resulting from the collaboration between INAIL and the Italian Institute of Technology (IIT).

ANA Avatar XPRIZE SEMIFINALS
03/2022

XPRIZE is the world’s leader in designing and operating incentive competitions to solve humanity’s greatest challenges. We are partecipating at ANA Avatar XPRIZE with our iCub3, in November there will be the finals, the last stage of the competition, in Los Angeles.

International Architecture Exhibition in Venice
03/2022
While an operator with the iFeel suit and sensors was in Genoa, he managed to connect to our iCub3 in Venice, communicating and moving through him. We collaborated with an advertising studio to create a professional video of the event.
SIML: 83rd National Congress of Occupational Medicine
09/2021

We took part at this congress presenting our researches and mini demo.

With the ergoCub project by INAIL and IIT, robotics is at the service of prevention.
06/2021

"We will put into practice the teachings derived from Industry 4.0, such as the need to develop a robotic technology that we inform to favor the well-being of the worker, not only physical but also psychosocial" - explains Daniele Pucci, coordinator of Artificial and Mechanical Intelligence lab of IIT (old Dynamic Interaction Control).

INAIL present ergoCub project.
01/2021

Robotic technology to enhance workplace safety.

Exploiting robotics to strengthen prevention and reduce the psychophysical risk of workers. This is the goal of the design and creation of new humanoids and wearable technologies conceived by Inail and IIT in the new ergoCub project.

    ergoCub
    HUMANOID ROBOT

    ergoCub is a humanoid robot endowed with embodied intelligence and designed for ergonomic interaction with humans. It is 150 cm tall and weighs 55.7 kg.

    iFeel

    The wearable technologies developed within the ergoCub project are aimed at monitoring workers with the goal of assessing and predicting biomechanical risk.

    Artificial Intelligence

    AI provides tools for interpreting data and endowing robots with collaborative intelligence as Motion Analysis, Risk Prediction, Navigation, Computer Vision, Motion Planning, Hardware Intelligence.

    Download our flyer here!

    ERGONOMICS AND RISK REDUCTION FOR FUTURE WORKERS

    "We give humanoid robots the ability to help and collaborate with humans."