Dennis Ledenkof is the CEO and founding father of roboSculptor the roboSculptor, an autonomous platform for physique therapies developed by well being business specialists and powered by AI. It ideally matches the longevity idea and delivers exact, secure, and cozy 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 searching for a distributor for an aesthetics system. 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 arduous 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 traditional form of a physique contouring system with a cobot. You understand, simply on prime of it. It appeared like an easy-to-implement thought.
1st iteration of including a robotic to a conventional aesthetic system. Scheme.
Nonetheless, as we delved deeper into the undertaking, we realized our preliminary imaginative and prescient did not align with the intricate calls for of the system we had been constructing. We underestimated the complexity of the enterprise.
The subsequent iteration of the system obtained a tunnel-like form.
Early model of roboSculptor – portal-like form.
It has been exhibited in some commerce reveals as an idea. The suggestions was that the machine appeared fairly large and, to some, even intimidating. Throughout further robotic motion exams, our engineers discovered that the system wasn’t inflexible sufficient to carry out therapeutic massage actions at increased speeds. After accumulating all this data the engineers began to work on a brand new construction. It was a difficult process 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 strong understanding of the place developments are likely to shift, you begin to study extra concerning the firms and what merchandise they construct. However most significantly, you study to see the gaps between what the market wants and what different gamers do.
With expertise in implementing physique contouring gadgets, 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 leisure—it is a scientifically confirmed approach for decreasing physique quantity and enhancing pores and skin oxygenation, achieved solely via mechanical utility. 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 at the moment 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 indicators 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 important problem, however an excellent larger one is the necessity to continuously observe the affected person’s place—often called 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 continuously 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’ve 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 the case of therapeutic massage remedy, there has all the time been a sure stage of subjectivity round what’s efficient. For example, what stress stage is required to carry out an environment friendly process? A robotic therapeutic massage system provides us a exact instrument for measuring stress in grams and controlling software motion velocity. We’ve designed the system in a manner that the manipulator’s actions are recorded with all exact dynamics and stress ranges. The motion historical past maylater be replayed and analyzed by algorithms. By evaluating affected person preferences with particular components of the motion historical past, we will pinpoint the simplest strategies for every particular person, just like how a preferred video platform makes use of likes to find out viewer preferences. Gathering extra knowledge on the effectiveness of therapies will finally enhance the standard of care primarily based on massive knowledge evaluation.
Might you clarify the position of the 3D digital camera 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 choices and act in line with its assigned duties. One of the crucial efficient methods to detect a human physique’s place is by utilizing 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 strains as tracks which might 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 can even alter the stress 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’ve evaluated totally different evaluation programs like measuring BMI, pores and skin high quality, and so on. Whereas these may make the system extra personalised, they might additionally complicate its operation. At later phases, we’ll get again to those matters. The present model of roboSculptor permits patiens to decide on numerous therapy applications relying on their targets, with the selection performing as a setting. Through the process, sufferers can even alter the stress 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 know-how available on the market with out passing all the mandatory exams. However passing them takes time for enterprise, typically greater than anticipated. Furthermore, the complicated 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 adjustments, and sudden geopolitical occasions can all throw a wrench. For starters, they could have an effect on the feasibility and profitability of startups and repel potential traders with the funds to help product improvement. And elevating funding for robotics is difficult sufficient now as it’s. Traditionally, traders hesitate to again robotics ventures as a result of excessive price of analysis, improvement, prototyping, manufacturing, and longer improvement cycles in comparison with software-based ventures. We will see this from firms like ARTAS, the developer of a robotic for hair transplantation, which nonetheless hasn’t turned a revenue.
Furthermore, some options are arduous to duplicate shortly because of their excessive prices. Subsequently, firms might not develop on the tempo that you’d anticipate. And it may take years for traders to exit and get returns from their investments.
What machine studying strategies are used to boost the therapeutic outcomes of roboSculptor regularly?
Physique detection entails processing a considerable amount of knowledge. To optimize the strategy of pose detection in real-time, we use a neural community. By machine studying, we’ve developed a mannequin that repeatedly displays sufferers’ physique positions in actual time. This knowledge is used to replace a physique map that assists a robotic in delivering a personalized therapeutic massage. This enables the robotic to adapt to any posture adjustments and supply exact software positioning and efficient therapy.
How do you see the position of AI and robotics evolving within the healthcare and wellness sectors over the subsequent decade?
In line with knowledge from the Worldwide Spa Affiliation (iSpa), there was a scarcity of 29,000 therapeutic massage therapists within the US in 2022. And the deficit remains to be current. Robotic options can shut this hole. One other profit is that they’ll present massages to those that can not 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 improve the income of SPA suppliers. For starters, robots can work extra effectively than people, performing duties quicker and extra exactly. Our analysis reveals that they’ll carry out double the procedures of a human therapist, producing as much as 2.4 occasions extra income for wellness amenities. Furthermore, operational prices may drop by as much as 40%, with returns on funding hitting 54% per system 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 can even scale back errors, enhance effectivity, and enhance affected person service.
How do you envision roboSculptor reworking the wellness business?
One of many issues in motels’ SPA/wellness facilities is the dearth 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 skills. Within the period of repeatedly 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 among the limitations in lots of industries and economics generally. I consider that implementing automation won’t solely ship therapies at extra versatile and handy occasions for shoppers but in addition considerably affect the wellness business. By including robotics, we will develop accessibility to very important providers and guarantee constant high quality for a a lot bigger variety of folks worldwi
Thanks for the nice interview, readers who want to study extra ought to go to roboSculptor.
