EMPATHY (Empathetic Mobility Platform with Autonomous TecHnologY), a project funded by the SWIch call

ALBA Robot, together with a high-level partnership consisting of Proma Group, R. Zenti Srl and the Politecnico di Torino as Research Body, has submitted a Research and Development project to the SWIch Call entitled "EMPATHY - Empathetic Mobility Platform with Autonomous TecHnologY".

The EMPATHY project leverages the skills and experience of ALBA Robot to develop and test a micro-mobility platform, starting with the production of a pre-series of robotaxis - single or double-seater - designed to transport people in pedestrian areas, indoors or outdoors.

The platform will be unique in its kind as it is designed primarily for people with reduced mobility who have difficulty walking long distances, but who will have to move around in increasingly large pedestrian areas, a global trend that will intensify in the coming years.

The project aims to develop unique features in the market segment, such as autonomous indoor and outdoor driving, social navigation, ergonomics and user experience suitable for a context in which humans and robots move at the same time, maximum autonomy thanks to lightweight stations for sanitization and recharging operations functional to mission profiles.

The project partners are:

- Politecnico di Torino, with the role of ODR partner. Specifically, three departments of the Politecnico are involved in the project activities: DIMEAS (Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering), DET (Department of Electronics and Telecommunications) and DAUIN (Department of Automation and Computer Science), through the Interdepartmental Center for Service Robotics PIC4Ser.

- Proma Group, is responsible for the study for the realization of the seat frame with the use of lighter materials; production of 10 seat prototypes.

- R. Zenti Srl, with its expertise in the field of rapid prototyping, is responsible for the prototyping activity, focused on OR n.4 Prototyping of mechanical parts.

We would like to thank the co-financing bodies (European Union, State and Regione Piemonte) and the implementing body, Finpiemonte S.p.A., for their support to our Research and Development activities, which allow us to work on challenging innovation topics with a clear market application.

The EMPATHY project is being carried out thanks to the co-financing of the Programma Regionale Piemonte F.E.S.R. 2021/2027 - Azione I.1i.1. Sostegno alle attività RSI e alla valorizzazione economica dell’innovazione.