BruBotics research groups have had collaborations with over 70 unique companies over the past 5 years alone. In European projects, collaborations are ongoing with some of the world leaders in their domains such as Volkswagen, Otto Bock or Daikin. How can we help you?
An ageing workforce, an ever increasing demand for higher productivity, a relentless war for talents, a need for better but also more efficient care,...our industry and society is faced with an ever increasing pressure to innovate and find ways to allow people to reach their full potential.
We believe robotics can be part of the solution, and BruBotics has the tools and expertise to guide you.
At BruBotics we aim for a stronger collaboration with partners outside the academic world. We want our research to benefit society. As such, we are always looking for "real-world" challenges where revolutionary technologies such as robotics and A.I. could prove valuable.
Human Robotic technology has the potential to make an enormous impact on our society and industry. As is always the case with newly emerging and disruptive technologies, both enormous opportunities as big question marks remain open. Only an interdisciplinary approach can generate innovative solutions.
BruBotics strives for a closer collaboration with the non-academic world, to make sure that the know-how and technologies developed at the Vrije Unversiteit Brussel on this exciting topic are put to good use. In order to do so, a wide range of collaboration possibilities exist:
Dedicated research on your challenges
Joint Research & Development
Steering our research through user group participation
Application driven research
Technology licensing
Strategic and fundamental research
Services and trainings
Internships & Student projects
It is also worth noting that BruBotics also has a clear goal to increase the number of spin-offs to market high potential technologies and make sure they are indeed put to good use.
We invite you to contact us, to discuss how we can help tackle your challenges. Together we can discuss the appropriate paths to take action and find the right financial support through national or international bodies such as the Flemish FWO or VLAIO, the Brussels INNOVIRIS programmes, the European Commission, …
Are you as a company interested to learn more about robotics and the answers human robotics can provide, without having a specific project in mind? We are always looking for companies to help guide our research in a direction that can lead to solid valorization towards society.
We gladly offer an overview of a selection of our expertise. Please do not hesitate to contact us to see how we can help each other.
Robots & Multibody Mechanics (R&MM)
- (Autonomous) Social Robots
- Collaborative robots (cobots)
- Safe, energy efficient and self-healing compliant actuation
- Exoskeletons for use in rehabilitation, manufacturing, logistics or care
- Bionic prosthetics
Studies on Media, Information and Telecommunication (SMIT)
- Human Robot interaction and collaboration
- Participatory design, Co-creation, User experience studies
- Acceptance studies and guidance
- Business and Policy analysis
Visionary Electronics & ICT (ETRO)
- Novel sensors & imagers
- Multi-dimensional signal processing, transmission, analysis, representation & visualization
- Affective computing
- eHealth
- Augmented and Virtual Reality
- Serious games
Belgian Ageing Studies (BAS)
- Studies on the needs of older people
- Evidence based policy making for and by older people
- Social and care innovation
- Acceptance studies
Industrial Engineers (INDI)
- Mechatronics
- Robot design and building for non-traditional robot environments
Human Physiology (MFYS)
- Workload studies
- Mental and physical fatigue and energy expenditure studies
- Brain measurements during human movement
- Monitoring brain responses during cognitive tests
- Robotic gait rehabilitation devices and human central nervous system
Artificial Intelligence lab - Computer Modeling (CoMo)
- Learning for single and multi-agent systems (focus on Reinforcement Learning and Game Theory)
- Machine Learning for data mining applications (incl. (deep) neural networks, genetic algorithms, graphical models, support vector machines…)
Neurological Rehabilitation (RERE)
- Clinical evaluation on the effect of robot systems for neurological patients
- Psychological aspects of acceptation of robotsystems and compliance
- Measurement of energy use for robot-assisted walking
- Use of Social Robots to improve physical activity of patients
Of particular importance is our expertise in healthcare and manufacturing, as proven by some of our featured projects.
With research topics ranging from social robots helping children with autism, children in hospitals or even older people to rehabilitation & assistive robotics (bionic prostheses, assistive exoskeletons), it is clear that robots can have a hugely positive impact on healthcare. With a clear vision to try and improve our quality of life through human robotics, it can be no wonder that Health is one of our prime research focusses.
Factories of the Future will feature a close collaboration between (collaborative) robots and humans, helping companies face the intense global competition and allowing them to overcome some of the demographic changes such as an ageing population. Combined, the BruBotics partners have the expertise needed to succesfully integrate human robotics in manufacturing processes. Ranging from exoskeletons to assist weight lifting to cobots, from sensors to machine learning, and from user acceptance to co-creation studies; our wide span of knowledge and developments bring industry 4.0 and 5.0 closer to reality.
A wearable lower-limb exoskeleton that assists activities of daily living and enables data-driven remote rehabilitation.
The AidWear project aims to develop the artificial intelligence frameworks that are necessary to enable Robotic Assistive Devices (active prosthetics and lower-limb exoskeletons) that give Parkinson’s patients and individuals with an amputation a better quality of life. Building on the results of the AI4exo project and taking advantage of existing hardware, AidWear will advance three areas of interest: intention detection, mid-level optimization, and dynamic simulation.
The project will generate international exposure for Belgian AI and robotics through participation in the 2024 CYBATHLON competition. Furthermore, there are concrete paths to provide a return to society, such as technology transfer to existing Belgian start-ups, reduced healthcare costs for two large patient groups, and dissemination activities to showcase the potential of AI and robotics in healthcare.
This project is made possible by the Federal Public Service for Policy and Support.
A robot that can feel what a therapist feels when treating a patient, that can adjust the intensity of rehabilitation exercises at any time according to the patient's abilities and needs, and that can thus go on for hours without getting tired: it seems like fiction, and yet researchers from the Vrije Universiteit Brussel and imec have now finished a prototype that unites all these skills in one robot.
The SARA project investigated the use of augmented reality to overlay a 3D rendering of medical images and planning information onto the patient’s anatomy during neurosurgery and orthopedic surgery to enhance the Computer Assisted Surgery (CAS) experience.
EU H2020 SOPHIA: Three BruBotics research groups joining forces to improve our work
Horizon 2020 FET Open: Developing fully-autonomous self-healing soft robotic devices
INTERREG EXSKALLERATE: Boosting SME adoption of exoskeletons in construction and manufacturing industries
The EU H2020 Spexor project: Preventing low-back pain with a novel and effective spinal exoskeleton
The ERC Starting Grant of prof. Bram Vanderborght
Flanders Make project Operator Info: turn operators in knowledge workers
The EU FP7 Dream project aims to deliver the next generation of Robot-Enhanced Therapy (RET) for children with autism.
iMinds ICON Project ClaXon: Towards a Smoother Human-Robot Collaboration in the Manufacturing Industry
iMinds ICON project WONDER: Interactive, Automated Support for Personalized Care Services using humanoid robots
Self-Healing Actuators Make Breaking Your Robot No Big Deal
ALTACRO rehabiliation exoskeleton: Automated Locomotion Training using an Actuated Compliant Robotic Orthosis
The EU FP7 project H2R aims to demonstrate human-like gait and posture in a controlled compliant biped robot
EU FP7 project SCANERGY: A Smart Grid using A.I.
EU FP7 project Cyberlegs: Cybernetic Lower-Limb cognitive Ortho-Prosthesis. Image: (c) Massimo Brega
IWT SBO MIRAD: an integrated Methodology to bring Intelligent Robotic Assistive Devices to the user, with a lower-limb exoskeleton as demonstrator.
