Using Välkky is exceptionally safe and thus it can be piloted and used in hospital environments relatively easily. Välkky’s movements are constantly controlled by a nurse, so the robot never works without the supervision of a professional. Nurses control the robot via haptic gloves, a haptic suit or a control chair. ‘Haptic’ means technology that utilises the sense of touch. The nurse controlling Välkky and the patient being treated do not have to be in the same room which means the robot can keep the staff safe as well.

The first pilots have ended but City of Helsinki's healthcare municipalities are aiming to find more funding for piloting the robot.

Laakso Hospital, the City of Helsinki's health and social services and the tech company Touchlab were the most central partners. The funding fro testing came from REDI SOTE project and FinEst Twins project. Additional funding for the continuation of the trial was secured from the City of Helsinki Economic Development Department and digital funding managed by Forum Virium Helsinki.

The Laakso hospital patients and nurses were the ones targeted in the pilot and they would be the first ones to benefit from the robot. After that, there would be also other hospitals, patients, and care takers finding the robot useful.

The nurse controlling Välkky and the patient being treated do not have to be in the same room. However, thanks to the robot’s electronic skin, developed originally for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the nurse and the patient still feel each other’s touch.

For the most part, patients had a very positive reaction to the robot. They were willing to be in contact with it.

The most important thing in this trial was to familiarise both the staff and the patients with the robot.

We piloted versatile ways in which the robot could be used so there were pilot runs with nurses and health care staff and real patients. Their opinions were surveyed.

During the summer, 12 nurses were trained to control Välkky. Because the results were promising but the hospital wanted more of them, the trial was continued at least until the end of 2023. So the pool of participants is still relatively small. Due to tehcnical issues the tests have been slower than expected.

Health care professionals willing to work with a robot is essential for Välkky as well as patients accepting it. The technical requirements need to be met as well.

It hasn't yet been replicated but there has been a lot of interest to do so.

Välkky was designed to serve as a working partner for care staff. In the future, it could help at least with repetitive tasks and physically taxing work. However, the aim is not to replace nurses, but to make their work easier and maintain their ability to work.

For example, robots could help with heavy lifting work, provide an extra pair of eyes or work in infection rooms, where they could check the patients’ condition without risking a nurse’s wellbeing.