Dennis Ledenkof is the CEO and founding father of roboSculptor the roboSculptor, an autonomous platform for physique therapies developed by well being business consultants and powered by AI. It ideally matches the longevity idea and delivers exact, protected, and comfy touchless wellness therapies.
Are you able to share the journey that led you to create roboSculptor?
I got here up with the concept to construct a robotic physique remedy system in 2019 throughout my journey to the US. I used to be in search of a distributor for an aesthetics machine. Whereas the potential companion favored the outcomes, the process was too time-consuming and required extremely expert labor, making the unit economics unclear. The process took an hour and was bodily demanding, with such specialists being onerous to search out. Throughout that journey, I didn’t get a distributor, however I obtained invaluable recommendation. To invent one thing that doesn’t require human energy.
It took my staff 9 months to make a demo that showcased the idea of a robotic therapeutic massage. At first, we wished to develop a product that merely mixed the basic form of a physique contouring machine with a cobot. , simply on prime of it. It appeared like an easy-to-implement thought.
1st iteration of including a robotic to a standard aesthetic machine. Scheme.
Nevertheless, as we delved deeper into the mission, we realized our preliminary imaginative and prescient did not align with the intricate calls for of the system we have been constructing. We underestimated the complexity of the enterprise.
The following iteration of the system obtained a tunnel-like form.
Early model of roboSculptor – portal-like form.
It has been exhibited in some commerce exhibits as an idea. The suggestions was that the machine appeared fairly huge and, to some, even intimidating. Throughout extra robotic motion assessments, our engineers discovered that the system wasn’t inflexible sufficient to carry out therapeutic massage actions at greater speeds. After accumulating all this info the engineers began to work on a brand new construction. It was a difficult activity to construct it. Nonetheless, it resulted in a special, extra open and pleasant design.
The precise roboSculptor design.
How has your expertise with earlier ventures influenced the event of roboSculptor?
Working within the aesthetics marketplace for over a decade provides you a stable understanding of the place traits are likely to shift, you begin to be taught extra concerning the corporations and what merchandise they construct. However most significantly, you be taught to see the gaps between what the market wants and what different gamers do.
With expertise in implementing physique contouring units, our firm got down to develop a robotic system able to delivering a full-body therapeutic therapeutic massage primarily based on lymphatic drainage. The Vibrocompression by spheres technique goes past mere rest—it is a scientifically confirmed method for lowering physique quantity and bettering pores and skin oxygenation, achieved solely by means of mechanical software. No laser or electromagnetic emission. Fairly pure and wholesome though very environment friendly therapy. All we do is simply mix many years of expertise and analysis with presently out there tech and robotic devices.
How does roboSculptor make the most of AI and robotics to personalize therapeutic massage strategies?
Our engineers found that constructing a robotic machine for physique therapy requires a system able to translating the place of a bodily physique into alerts the machine can perceive. Merely put, we wanted to create a digital map of the human physique to information a robotic manipulator. This can be a vital problem, however an excellent larger one is the necessity to continually monitor the affected person’s place—generally known as dynamic pose detection—as a result of people can transfer unexpectedly. And most of the people would not need a therapeutic massage in a spot the place their leg was only a few seconds in the past.
To unravel this, we developed a system utilizing 4 lidars that create a degree cloud, which is mixed with a 3D mannequin of the human physique and continually up to date. This map then guides the robotic over the physique’s floor. Constructing this map accurately requires analyzing a big quantity of knowledge. To precisely detect the pose, we now have created an AI/ML mannequin that optimizes pose detection. Our system can now map the physique at a velocity of 5-10 frames per second and supply the robotic with correct instructions to execute therapeutic massage protocols.
How does roboSculptor incorporate suggestions from customers and therapists to refine its algorithms?
In terms of therapeutic massage remedy, there has all the time been a sure stage of subjectivity round what’s efficient. As an example, what strain stage is required to carry out an environment friendly process? A robotic therapeutic massage system provides us a exact instrument for measuring strain in grams and controlling instrument motion velocity. We’ve designed the system in a approach that the manipulator’s actions are recorded with all exact dynamics and strain ranges. The motion historical past maylater be replayed and analyzed by algorithms. By evaluating affected person preferences with particular elements of the motion historical past, we are able to pinpoint the best strategies for every particular person, just like how a preferred video platform makes use of likes to find out viewer preferences. Gathering extra information on the effectiveness of therapies will finally enhance the standard of care primarily based on large information evaluation.
May you clarify the function of the 3D digicam system in enhancing the effectiveness of the therapies?
A robotic is an automatic system which will work together with actual objects primarily based on the duty it’s preprogrammed for. Merely put, it’s a machine that may see, make selections and act in keeping with its assigned duties. Probably the most efficient methods to detect a human physique’s place is through the use of Lidars—3D depth sensors, sometimes called ‘3D cameras.’ They help create a detailed 3D map of the patient’s physique. You may consider therapeutic massage traces as tracks which can be mapped onto the affected person’s physique. Lidars generate a degree cloud, which is then used to construct this exact map.
Dennis, the founding father of roboSculptor, envisioned by 3D scanners as a degree cloud.
Are you able to clarify how the system adapts a therapeutic massage session primarily based on the person’s biometric suggestions?
Through the process, sufferers also can regulate the strain stage. The system is paired with an app that lets customers outline ‘no-go zones’—sensitive areas the machine should avoid during treatment.”
It’s probably not biometric suggestions that we implement within the present model, though we now have evaluated totally different evaluation techniques like measuring BMI, pores and skin high quality, and many others. Whereas these might make the system extra personalised, they’d additionally complicate its operation. At later phases, we’ll get again to those subjects. The present model of roboSculptor permits patiens to decide on varied therapy packages relying on their objectives, with the selection appearing as a setting. Through the process, sufferers also can regulate the strain stage. The system is paired with an app that lets customers outline ‘no-go zones’—sensitive areas the machine should avoid during treatment.
illustration of no-go zones on a female 3-d model. roboSclulptor.
What significant challenges did you face while developing roboSculptor, and how did you overcome them?
First comes the security. Fortunately for clients, you can’t simply put a product or a expertise available on the market with out passing all the required assessments. However passing them takes time for enterprise, generally greater than anticipated. Furthermore, the advanced interaction between innovation and regulation can gradual the adoption of disruptive applied sciences, resulting in a paradoxical scenario the place cutting-edge options face resistance from conventional frameworks.
Financial uncertainty provides one other layer of complexity. Fluctuations in market demand, regulatory modifications, and sudden geopolitical occasions can all throw a wrench. For starters, they might have an effect on the feasibility and profitability of startups and repel potential buyers with the funds to help product improvement. And elevating funding for robotics is difficult sufficient now as it’s. Traditionally, buyers hesitate to again robotics ventures because of the excessive value of analysis, improvement, prototyping, manufacturing, and longer improvement cycles in comparison with software-based ventures. We are able to see this from corporations like ARTAS, the developer of a robotic for hair transplantation, which nonetheless hasn’t turned a revenue.
Furthermore, some options are onerous to duplicate rapidly on account of their excessive prices. Subsequently, corporations might not develop on the tempo that you’d anticipate. And it might take years for buyers to exit and get returns from their investments.
What machine studying strategies are used to reinforce the therapeutic outcomes of roboSculptor frequently?
Physique detection includes processing a considerable amount of information. To optimize the strategy of pose detection in real-time, we use a neural community. By way of machine studying, we’ve developed a mannequin that constantly displays sufferers’ physique positions in actual time. This information is used to replace a physique map that assists a robotic in delivering a personalized therapeutic massage. This permits the robotic to adapt to any posture modifications and supply exact instrument positioning and efficient therapy.
How do you see the function of AI and robotics evolving within the healthcare and wellness sectors over the subsequent decade?
In line with information from the Worldwide Spa Affiliation (iSpa), there was a scarcity of 29,000 therapeutic massage therapists within the US in 2022. And the deficit continues to be current. Robotic options can shut this hole. One other profit is that they’ll present massages to those that can’t resort to conventional masseuses for various causes (from being uncomfortable with human contact to cultural nuances).
As well as, robotic and AI-based options can considerably enhance the income of SPA suppliers. For starters, robots can work extra effectively than people, performing duties quicker and extra exactly. Our analysis exhibits that they’ll carry out double the procedures of a human therapist, producing as much as 2.4 instances extra income for wellness amenities. Furthermore, operational prices might drop by as much as 40%, with returns on funding hitting 54% per machine yearly.
Moreover, integrating robots and AI in healthcare can automate routine duties, permitting healthcare professionals to focus extra on direct affected person care and complicated decision-making. These applied sciences also can scale back errors, enhance effectivity, and enhance affected person service.
How do you envision roboSculptor remodeling the wellness business?
One of many issues in resorts’ SPA/wellness facilities is the shortage of expert therapists. Through the pandemic, some therapists who misplaced their jobs at the moment simply modified professions. The others don’t need to work full-time and like extra life of their work-life stability than earlier than. The opposite one is that therapist’s schedules are decided by labor legal guidelines and their bodily talents. Within the period of constantly rising consumption, the demand must be lined. And the labor market doesn’t have sufficient specialists to supply.
As cited in ISPA 2023 analysis paper ‘Staff shortages were most often cited as the primary reason given by spas reporting a decrease in their weekly hours of operation and also those saying they had decreased the number of service provider shifts per day.
Limited SPA zones working hours decrease the return on investment of SPA and wellness centres. In the nearest healthcare industry, it’s physiotherapists’ wants are removed from totally lined by specialists out there.
Labor is likely one of the limitations in lots of industries and economics typically. I imagine that implementing automation is not going to solely ship therapies at extra versatile and handy instances for shoppers but additionally considerably affect the wellness business. By including robotics, we are able to develop accessibility to very important companies and guarantee constant high quality for a a lot bigger variety of individuals worldwi
Thanks for the good interview, readers who want to be taught extra ought to go to roboSculptor.
