MARIO · Project

Service Robots That Help Elderly People Fight Loneliness and Dementia at Home

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Imagine an older person living alone, slowly losing their memory and drifting away from friends and family. MARIO built friendly robots — based on an existing commercial platform called Kompai — that can chat with them, remind them of their interests, connect them with caregivers, and even run simple brain-stimulating activities. The robots were tested both in care homes and in people's actual living rooms across Europe, with 12 units deployed for real-world trials. Think of it as a patient, always-available companion that bridges the gap between doctor visits.

By the numbers

Service robots built and deployed for validation

Consortium partners across Europe

Countries involved in development and testing

Total project deliverables produced

SME partners in the consortium

EUR 3,994,857

Total EU funding for the project

The business problem

What needed solving

Elderly care facilities and home care providers face a growing crisis: more people are aging alone, developing dementia, and becoming socially isolated, while qualified caregivers are increasingly scarce and expensive. Human intervention alone cannot scale to meet the demand, and the consequences of untreated loneliness and cognitive decline are severe and life-limiting. There is a clear market gap for technology that can provide consistent, affordable companionship and cognitive support between human caregiver visits.

The solution

What was built

The project delivered 12 service robots built on the commercial Kompai platform, equipped with semantic data analytics for personalized interaction, brain-stimulating applications for dementia patients, and connectivity tools linking elderly users to caregivers and their social circles. A total of 31 deliverables were produced, including a robot application development platform by Ortellio and telecommunication modules by CNET.

Audience

Who needs this

Residential care home chains looking to reduce staff burden and improve resident wellbeingHome care service providers needing affordable remote monitoring and engagement toolsHealthtech companies wanting to enter the elderly care robotics marketMunicipal social care departments managing aging populations with limited budgetsTelecare and assistive technology distributors seeking next-generation products

Business applications

Who can put this to work

Elderly Care & Assisted Living

mid-size

Target: Residential care home operators and assisted living facility chains

If you are a care home operator dealing with rising staffing costs and residents suffering from loneliness and cognitive decline — this project developed 12 service robots built on the commercial Kompai platform that connect elderly residents to caregivers, social circles, and brain-stimulating activities. The system was validated both in-clinic and at-home across a 10-partner consortium spanning 6 countries.

Healthcare Technology

SME

Target: Medical device and assistive technology companies

If you are a healthtech company looking to expand into the growing elderly care robotics market — this project produced a robot application development platform with semantic data analytics and personalized interaction capabilities. With 31 deliverables including validated software modules and 4 SME partners already in the consortium, there is a ready technology stack to license or integrate into your product line.

Home Care Services

any

Target: Home care service providers and telecare companies

If you are a home care provider struggling to keep isolated elderly clients engaged between caregiver visits — this project built robot-mediated solutions specifically tested in at-home settings that help older people stay connected to their community and personal interests. The system includes dedicated telecommunication components developed by specialist partner CNET for remote monitoring and interaction.

Frequently asked

Quick answers

What would it cost to deploy these robots in our facility?

The MARIO project used the Kompai robot platform by ROBOSOFT, which is a commercially available system. The total project budget was EUR 3,994,857 across 10 partners over 3 years, covering R&D and validation. Exact per-unit costs for commercial deployment would need to be discussed directly with the technology providers in the consortium.

Can this scale beyond a pilot to hundreds of care homes?

The project explicitly developed a 'path to market deployment' and included dedicated exploitation experts (R2M) to plan commercial rollout. The Kompai platform by ROBOSOFT already had a commercial footprint before MARIO, suggesting manufacturing scalability exists. However, large-scale deployment logistics would require further discussion with the consortium.

Who owns the IP and can we license this technology?

The consortium includes 5 industry partners and 4 SMEs, each contributing different components — ROBOSOFT owns the Kompai robot platform, Ortellio developed the application platform, and CNR contributed computer science advances. Licensing terms would need to be negotiated with individual IP holders depending on which components you need.

Has this been tested with real elderly users or just in a lab?

Based on available project data, the keywords explicitly reference 'in-clinic at-home large-scale validation' and 'user-led iterative development.' The project involved the City of Stockport's social care programs and an Italian hospital pushing boundaries in comprehensive geriatric assessment, confirming real-world testing with actual users and caregivers.

What regulations apply to deploying care robots?

The project operated within a 'standards-based medical assessment methodology' and involved geriatric assessment protocols from a hospital partner in Italy. Any commercial deployment would need to comply with medical device regulations and data privacy requirements (GDPR) for handling sensitive health data of elderly users.

How quickly could we integrate this into our existing care infrastructure?

The project ran from 2015 to 2018, producing 31 deliverables including 12 ready service robots and a dedicated robot application development platform by Ortellio. The modular design — with separate components for telecommunication, semantic analytics, and personal interaction — suggests integration can be phased rather than requiring a complete system overhaul.

Consortium

Who built it

The MARIO consortium is well-balanced for moving from research to market, with 5 industry partners out of 10 total (50% industry ratio) and 4 SMEs bringing commercial agility. The technology backbone comes from ROBOSOFT (Kompai robot platform with existing commercial footprint) and Ortellio (application development platform), while the University of Galway's nursing unit and an Italian hospital provide clinical credibility. Dedicated exploitation partner R2M and telecom specialist CNET round out the group, covering market access and connectivity. Spread across 6 countries (DE, EL, FR, IE, IT, UK), the consortium has broad European market reach for future deployment.

UNIVERSITY OF GALWAYCoordinator · IE
FONDAZIONE CASA SOLLIEVO DELLA SOFFERENZAparticipant · IT
CONSIGLIO NAZIONALE DELLE RICERCHEparticipant · IT
R.U.Robots Limitedparticipant · UK
ROBOSOFT Services Robotsparticipant · FR
UNIVERSITAT PASSAUparticipant · DE
R2M SOLUTION SRLparticipant · IT
ORTELIO LTDparticipant · UK

How to reach the team

The coordinator is the University of Galway (Ireland), nursing unit. SciTransfer can help establish contact with the research team and technology partners.

Order a report on this consortium See UNIVERSITY OF GALWAY profile →

Next steps

Talk to the team behind this work.

Want to explore licensing MARIO's robot care platform or piloting it in your facilities? SciTransfer connects you directly with the right consortium partners — contact us for a tailored introduction.

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