Recent years have seen a dramatic rise in the use of SARs in the field of healthcare and well-being services, primarily driven by advancements in AI. SARs are being employed to address global health challenges, which came to the fore during the COVID-19 pandemic and with shifts in the demographic curve of developed countries towards an ageing population. The United Nations estimates that by 2050, one in six persons will be over 65 years of age. Countries globally have experienced care worker shortages and burnout, raising concerns about their capacity to respond to health crises. SARs have been explored as a partial solution, as they hold out the promise of providing scalable and cost-effective support across a wide range of health and care domains. Indeed, the global market for medical robots is expected to reach $52.41 billion by 2032, with an estimated growth rate of 15.69 per cent.
SARs can be used to address global health and well-being challenges aligned with the SDGs, particularly SDG 3 (good health and well-being) and SDG 10 (reduced inequalities). In Japan, for example, robots have increasingly been used in nursing homes to help care for the country’s ageing population, albiet with mixed, yet promising results. Robots have also been used in low-income countries to deliver physiotherapy and rehabilitation services.
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, UNDP deployed smart anti-epidemic robots in collaboration with the Government of Rwanda, which could screen between 50 and 150 people per minute and were used to distribute food and medication to patients. Elsewhere, SARs have also been used to assist with cognitive support of the elderly, providing them with reminders to take medication and helping to improve their quality of life. Furthermore, exoskeletons and robotic walkers have been shown to help disabled individuals perform daily activities, including walking and climbing stairs, reflecting a growing interest and engagement in the field of robotics for human mobility.
Indeed, neurological AI has been used to analyse signals received from humans to decode muscle or brain activity, and use such data to detectmobility-challenged patients’ intentions to move.
While robotics is not the only use for AI in medicine, it represents a promising advance in the field, amplifying the work of doctors (as in the case of rehabilitation technologies) and enhancing medical capacity where needed. This capability is especially important in the Global South, where the use of robots in medicine can reduce disease burden while potentially improving access to robotic telesurgery and medical care in remote and underserved regions, as in Rwanda, where the French Research Institute against Digestive Cancer opened an institute in Kigali that trains surgeons in robot-assisted surgery.
AI for Good in focus: AI-powered wearable robots providing personalized assistance for mobility
Breakthroughs in lower limb exoskeletons that use deep learning have led to exoskeletons being able to provide personalized assistance, particularly for senior individuals. On 5 March 2025, the AI for Good platform convened a webinar showcasing research from Dr. Aaron Young, Associate Professor and Woodruff Faculty Fellow at Georgia Tech’s Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering, and Director of the Exoskeleton and Prosthetic Intelligent Controls Lab. The webinar spotlighted the ability of temporal convolutional neural networks that can process real-time sensor data such as encoders, joint angles, velocities and inertial measurement units at 200 Hz to directly predict internal joint movements. This new breakthrough can support dynamic torque adjustments in exoskeletons, without requiring task-specific calibration. Promisingly, this technique resulted in a 14 per cent reduction in metabolic cost during walking and lifting tasks, exceeding standard State-based controllers by adapting to each user’s unique biomechanical characteristics.
The utilization of open-source datasets enables task-agnostic control for 29 different activities, including walking, ramp ascent and descent, and stair climbing. The webinar noted that this eliminates the need for manual controller calibration, while staying in sync with user intent by concentrating on internal physiological cues. While the webinar acknowledged current challenges such as device weight and the complexities of real-world deployment, it also pointed to promising future directions for lighter, clothing-integrated systems with broader clinical applications, including post-stroke rehabilitation. These advancements make a significant contribution to wearable robots by addressing the challenge of generalizing across numerous activities while overcoming the limits of standard control systems. They also open the way for more user-friendly, plug-and-play exoskeletons that can be effortlessly integrated into daily life, allowing individuals to move freely and independently.
AI for Good in focus: Exoskeletons for rehabilitation
AI-powered exoskeletons provide mechanical support that enables people with gait and mobility issues to stand and walk again. This robotic technology is transforming the field of rehabilitation by allowing patients and therapists to experiment with a diverse range of treatments and therapies, while improving rehabilitation training sessions. Exoskeletons can also provide customizable assistance and monitoring features, allowing clinicians to easily track functional progress and develop personalized treatment plans that maximize treatment productivity while minimizing training time.
Atalante X is the world’s first self-balancing, hands-free autonomous exoskeleton for rehabilitation support following a stroke or spinal cord injury. Produced by the French robotics company Wandercraft, the exoskeleton includes self-balancing features, multi-directional locomotion for task-oriented treatment and custom adjustable assistance that enables patients to gradually increase their motor function through continuous care. Nearly 100 units of Wandercraft exoskeletons are in use at rehabilitation institutions and clinical research centres in the United States, Europe and Brazil today.
Studies have shown that early mobilization and verticalization through frequent rehabilitation sessions can result in improved functional recovery and decrease the risk of complications relating to loss of mobility. From standing up to relearning how to walk, Atalante X claims to empower patients to regain the ability to walk in the early stages of their care. AI-powered multi-directional walking algorithms allow the exoskeletons to mimic human movement and help patients to relearn their natural walking pattern.
Exoskeleton users can reclaim their independence by engaging in daily activities, such as movement and exercise, to enhance their quality of life. The adoption of this assistive technology demonstrates a growing demand for personalized healthcare solutions that optimize treatment plans according to patients’ specific needs and conditions. As AI-powered exoskeletons become more prevalent in therapeutic treatment, policies that regulate robotics in healthcare ought to impose standards for rigorous testing to ensure the devices are reliable and safe.
Suggested citation: Healthcare and telemedicine : UNU-CPR, 2026.
