We're experiencing, for the first time, that the physical world can be automated—not through rigid industrial machinery, but through agile service robots that can move safely in everyday environments. Yet every discussion with hospitals, municipalities, or retail companies begins with the same question:
"Why should we focus on robotics now?"
The honest answer: Not because robots are ready—but because everything around them isn't.
The Real Bottleneck Isn't Robots—It's Missing Infrastructure
Demographic shifts create bottlenecks across many industries. Robotics could help, but before it delivers real value, fundamental questions must be answered:
- How do robots open doors or use elevators?
- How do they communicate with existing IT systems?
- How are they embedded into processes designed for humans?
- How does a workflow run without manual approval?
In short:
Robots only relieve burden when buildings and processes are robot-ready.
Yet this foundation is missing in almost every organization.
We Need Middleware for the Physical World
In software, we know: Without operating systems and APIs, chaos emerges. In the physical world, the current state is identical:
- individual robots
- individual apps
- individual gateways
- individual elevator or door systems
- individual siloed solutions
But no common layer that orchestrates everything.
When physical workflows need automation, that's exactly what's required:
An interoperability layer. An operating system for buildings, robotics, and IT. A common language for the physical world.
Why This Step Is Critical Right Now
Many facilities are on the verge of their first service robotics investment. This is precisely where risk emerges:
Starting now without vendor-agnostic architecture creates tomorrow's lock-in.
Once robots are integrated with doors, elevators, or internal processes in vendor-specific ways, dependencies form that are difficult to untangle.
Meanwhile, requirements are increasing:
- more access control
- higher security standards
- highly heterogeneous door and elevator systems
- diverse IT landscapes
Without a common layer, complexity and costs grow—long before measurable relief occurs.
Robotics Doesn't Scale Through Better Robots—But Through Compatible Infrastructure
This sounds counterintuitive but is crucial:
- The fastest robot doesn't deliver the greatest relief,
- but the process that runs without human intervention.
Real-world example: A transport process only relieves burden when the robot can
- open doors,
- use elevators autonomously,
- automatically notify target areas,
- require no manual approval.
Robots don't replace people—they replace journeys. And journeys are only automatable when all components communicate with each other.
Why We Founded Athegus
Athegus is a spinoff from Deggendorf Institute of Technology. In our research projects, we saw the same pattern for years:
- Robots function.
- Buildings function.
- But the connection is missing.
From precisely this gap, Axiona emerged— a platform that integrates robots, doors, elevators, and IT into unified workflows.
On this foundation, we build industry-specific products:
- hospOS for hospitals
- retailOS for retail
- hotelOS for hospitality
- fabOS for industrial micro-transport
The core remains consistent:
Interoperable. Secure. Modular. European.
What This Means for Organizations That "Don't Have Robots Yet"
These facilities benefit most from early architecture planning:
- Which processes are suitable for automation?
- Which building technology must be connected?
- How do you remain independent from vendors?
- How is data privacy ensured?
- How do you reduce future operational overhead?
Addressing these questions now avoids future lock-ins—and establishes the foundation for genuine relief.
Conclusion: Automating the Physical World Starts with Architecture, Not Robots
Our "Hello World" isn't a robot driving down a corridor.
Our "Hello World" is infrastructure that relieves physical work— in hospitals, retail, hotels, industry.
The future doesn't belong to devices. It belongs to the processes we can automate through them.
About the Author: Sebastian Schmidt is CEO and co-founder of Athegus GmbH. As a spinoff from Deggendorf Institute of Technology, Athegus develops Axiona—a modular robot management system that connects robots, building technology, and IT in secure, interoperable workflows.