What Work-Life Robotics Institute does

Work-Life Robotics Institute (WLRI) is a research institute within Hochschule Offenburg — University of Applied Sciences, located at Badstraße 24 in Offenburg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Founded in 2014, WLRI develops applied robotics solutions intended for direct transfer into industrial and care practice. Its research focus spans seven areas: collaborative robotics (cobots that work safely alongside humans without physical barriers), applied industrial robotics for manufacturing automation, additive manufacturing of robotic components via 3D printing, machine safety and certification of robotic systems, assisted living and care robotics, shopfloor simulation for virtual pre-implementation analysis, and lean robotics methodology. The institute's deliverables are research outputs, publications, and consulting-style engagements rather than commercial products. Its two flagship structured programs are EU Interreg Oberrhein–funded projects: Robot Hub Academie (cross-border robotics education, doctoral network, and robot certification) and Robot Hub Transfer (SME automation support comprising on-site current-state analysis, solution concept development, and risk assessments).

WLRI is staffed by a small team led by Prof. Dr.-Ing. Thomas Wendt, drawing on the broader Hochschule Offenburg research base of 130 professors and 3,700 students across engineering, business, and media faculties. The institute maintains a public project registry (Vorhabenregister) documenting all industry and academic projects since 2014, and publishes through the OPUS scholarly repository and Google Scholar. It is funded through university budgets, EU Interreg Oberrhein project grants, government research funding, and industry collaboration contributions — it does not sell commercial products or services and generates no commercial revenue.

WLRI is not a commercial entity: it is organized as a research institute within a public-law corporation (Körperschaft des Öffentlichen Rechts) under the state of Baden-Württemberg. Its strategic positioning is regional and cross-border, serving SMEs and academic partners in the German-French-Swiss Upper Rhine region. The moat derives from regulated access to EU Interreg funding channels, the talent pool of a public university, and a decade-long registry of applied robotics projects.

Name

Work-Life Robotics Institute

Legal name

Hochschule Offenburg - Hochschule für Technik, Wirtschaft und Medien

Website

https://wlri.hs-offenburg.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Work-Life Robotics Institute (WLRI) is a public research institute at Hochschule Offenburg in Germany, developing applied collaborative and industrial robotics solutions for SMEs and academic partners across the Upper Rhine region (Germany, France, Switzerland) through EU Interreg-funded projects.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Applied Robotics Research

NAICS

Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (54171), Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (except Nanotechnology and Biotechnology) (541715)

SIC

Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731)

akta.pro primary industry

Industrial Automation Software (SCADA, HMI, MES, Historian) (IMAHAHAJ)

akta.pro secondary industries

Mechatronics Systems & Integration (EDAOAHAB), Lean Maintenance, TPM & Maintenance Management (CMMS) (EDAOAHAL)

Keywords

• Applied robotics research
• Collaborative robotics
• Industrial automation
• Robot safety certification
• Care robotics

Headquarters

HQ city

Offenburg

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Operations

Revenue model

1. Research Project Funding: The institute conducts applied research projects funded by EU programs (Interreg Oberrhein), government grants, and industry collaborations. They maintain a project registry (Vorhabenregister) documenting all ongoing and completed projects since 2014.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

WLRI is a university research institute that conducts applied research in industrial and collaborative robotics, additive manufacturing of robotic components, machine safety/certification of robotic systems, care robotics, shopfloor simulation, and Lean Robotics. It delivers its research through collaborative projects with industry and SMEs, primarily funded via EU Interreg Oberrhein programs (Robot Hub Academie for cross-border robotics education; Robot Hub Transfer for SME automation consulting) and maintains a public project registry since 2014.

Product overview

The Work-Life Robotics Institute (WLRI) at Hochschule Offenburg is a research institute focused on developing solutions where humans and technology work hand in hand. Their portfolio consists of collaborative robotics, applied industrial robotics, additively manufactured components for robotics, machine safety and approval of robotics applications, assisted living and care robotics, shopfloor simulation, and lean robotics. Two flagship offerings are the EU Interreg Oberrhein projects: Robot Hub Academie (cross-border robotics education and training) and Robot Hub Transfer (SME automation support services).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Robot Hub Academie EU Interreg Oberrhein cross-border education project that trains future robotics experts in the Upper Rhine region. WLRI plans to open robotics lectures for students from France and Switzerland and develop offerings for doctoral candidates, including a doctoral network and robot certification (Roboterführerschein) programs.
• Robot Hub Transfer EU Interreg Oberrhein cross-border transfer project that supports small and medium-sized enterprises in the Upper Rhine region with automation of processes using robots. Services include on-site current-state analyses, development of solution concepts, and risk assessments.
• Vorhabenregister (Project Registry) Public, searchable database of all WLRI research projects with partners from science and industry since 2014; supports transparency and external discovery of the institute's work for SMEs, researchers, and funders.

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature7 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• EU Interreg Oberrhein ProgramcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe WLRI participates in two EU-funded Interreg Oberrhein projects: Robot Hub Academie (for robotics education across borders with France and Switzerland) and Robot Hub Transfer (for SME automation support). The monitoring committee approved both cross-border projects involving German-French-Swiss collaboration.
• Robot Hub Academie ConsortiumcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCross-border robotics education initiative training future robotics experts in the Upper Rhine region. WLRI plans to open robotics lectures to students from France and Switzerland, develop offerings for doctoral candidates, and create a doctoral network.
• Robot Hub Transfer ConsortiumcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerProject supporting small and medium enterprises in the Upper Rhine region with robot automation. Services include on-site current-state analysis, solution concept development, and risk assessments.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• KUKA: Global industrial and collaborative robotics manufacturer headquartered in Germany; comparable in core robotics domain but commercial rather than research-only, and much larger.
• Universal Robots: Leading commercial collaborative robotics (cobot) vendor, directly relevant to WLRI's cobot research focus but as a commercial product company rather than a research institute.
• ABB Robotics: Major industrial and collaborative robotics provider with active research partnerships; comparable in industrial robotics and safety certification but operates as a commercial incumbent at global scale.

Regional players

• Hochschule Karlsruhe – Institut für Naturwissenschaften und Technik: Another Baden-Württemberg university of applied sciences with applied robotics and automation research; comparable in regional positioning and SME-transfer orientation but geographically adjacent rather than overlapping.

Direct peers

• DLR Institute of Robotics and Mechatronics: German federal research center for robotics and mechatronics; directly comparable research portfolio (industrial robotics, safety, care robotics) and publicly funded operating model.
• Karlsruhe Institute of Technology – Institute for Anthropomatics and Robotics: KIT's robotics research institute focused on industrial and service robotics, with comparable research areas and publicly funded operating model.
• Fraunhofer IML: Applied research institute focused on intra-logistics, material handling, and robotic systems, with similar transfer-to-SME and EU-funded project structures as WLRI.
• Fraunhofer IPA: Germany's leading applied research institute for production technology and robotics, covering industrial robotics, collaborative robots, and automation safety—directly comparable activity mix to WLRI but at much larger scale.
• FZI Forschungszentrum Informatik: Karlsruhe-based non-profit research institute affiliated with KIT, conducting applied robotics, human-robot collaboration, and transfer-to-industry programs closely mirroring WLRI's model.
• ETH Zürich Autonomous Systems Lab: Academic robotics lab at ETH Zürich with research in collaborative robots, navigation, and care robotics; comparable as a tri-border-region Upper Rhine robotics research peer.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UC3qZVQ5BOnXURhB5AivK1eA
• Facebookfacebook.com/hochschule.offenburg
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/work-life-robotics-institute-wlri
• Instagraminstagram.com/hochschule.offenburg

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Work-Life Robotics Institute