TUM + Pfennigparade Foundation – Robotics and AI
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Why is it a good practice of the Person-Centered Model?
Joint project between the Technical University of Munich (TUM) and the Pfennigparade Foundation to develop and apply assistive robotics and artificial intelligence solutions focused on improving the lives of people with physical disabilities. Person-centered approach: End users participate in all phases of testing and validation of prototypes, ensuring that devices respond to real situations of daily life.
Integrated Assessment (Person, Family, Housing) and Life History
The project begins by analysing each participant’s physical and functional condition in detail. Researchers measure residual muscle activity and movement patterns in people with severe motor impairments, especially those with spinal cord injuries. This assessment is highly individualised because each person’s body, history of injury and functional capacity is unique. Although the project does not formally evaluate family or housing situations, it implicitly considers the person’s daily living context: how they move, what functions they have lost, and what forms of autonomy they aim to regain. This creates a personalised understanding of the person’s life story, abilities and everyday challenges.
Personalised Care and Support Plan for the Life Project
The aim of the project is to develop assistive robotic and AI-based solutions that can be tailored to each individual’s capabilities and goals. Instead of offering a universal device, the technology adapts to the specific muscle signals the person can still produce, allowing them to control tools such as wheelchairs or robotic systems. This becomes a personalised support pathway: technology is shaped around the individual’s life project, enabling greater independence, mobility and participation in daily life. The project ultimately seeks to restore control and agency, helping each person pursue a more autonomous future.
Support groups
Although the initiative is primarily technological and research-oriented, it naturally creates a collaborative environment where participants, researchers and therapists interact closely. People involved in the project often share experiences and expectations, creating a sense of community through shared experimentation and progress. While not structured as formal support groups, the project fosters an atmosphere where participants can feel understood, encouraged and part of a collective effort to innovate for disability inclusion.
Case Management and Resource Coordinator
The collaboration between the university research team and the disability organisation provides a form of coordinated support. Ethical approval, data handling, participant recruitment and follow-up require organised management structures. The disability organisation contributes practical experience and knowledge of user needs, while the university coordinates the technological development and scientific evaluation. This partnership ensures that each participant receives guidance throughout the research process and that the emerging technologies align with real-world needs.
Highlined results
Development of technologies tailored to functional needs, improvement of mobility and autonomy, and sustained collaboration between academic, technological and social sectors.
Inspiring ideas for other enviorments. It can works! 😉
The project demonstrates how advanced robotics and AI can be harnessed to restore autonomy for people with severe disabilities. Its approach shows that assistive technologies become far more powerful when built together with users, not merely for them. The concept can inspire other settings: combining clinical insight, user participation and technological innovation can create solutions that genuinely transform daily life. It proves that personalised, intelligent assistive devices can make independence possible even for individuals with very limited motor function.
Other observations
TUM + Pfennigparade Foundation