From Pedestrian Street to Hospital Corridor: Tic-Tac-Toe Robot Gives Children a Break from Illness
With a robotic arm, nine squares, and a strong partnership between public and private actors, children at Odense University Hospital (OUH) are now given the chance to forget about illness for a moment and challenge the hospital’s newest “player” to a game of tic-tac-toe.
At the Fairytale Ward at H.C. Andersen Children’s and Adolescent Hospital in Odense stands a robot that neither takes blood samples nor measures blood pressure. Instead, it challenges children to games of tic-tac-toe around the clock.
The result?
Children who willingly leave their beds, forget that they are fasting, and insist on “beating the robot” before their admission ends – or even when they are just visiting.
The robot is the result of a collaboration between the Danish Technological Institute, H.C. Andersen Children’s and Adolescent Hospital, the Centre for Clinical Robotics (CCR) at Odense University Hospital (OUH), Universal Robots, OnRobot, the Municipality of Odense, and the Region of Southern Denmark – with support from Tryllebjergets Venner and Banko Vennerne.
A robot that gets children out of bed
“The best thing about the robot is that some children get a really positive experience for a while. They want to get out of bed because they want to go and try the robot.”
The robot creates a natural gathering point and a concrete activity for both inpatients, outpatients, and their families.
“The robot provides meaningful content for children who are here for both short and longer stays. We have many outpatient children coming in, but also children who are admitted, and I can see staff using the robot to motivate them to get up and go try it.”
The robot is more than just a toy. It makes a tangible difference for children facing difficult situations. In this way, technology becomes a simple yet effective tool for creating calm and a sense of safety – giving both children and parents a small break from worry.
“I’ve seen a ward use the robot as a waiting activity for a child who was about to undergo surgery. You could tell the child was nervous beforehand. But while playing tic-tac-toe together with his parents by the robot, he became completely absorbed in the game.”
From Pedestrian Street to Children’s Hospital
The tic-tac-toe robot, also known as the XO robot, is already familiar to many from Odense’s pedestrian street on Vestergade, where passers-by can challenge it to a game. When Mette Sorang Kjær first saw the robot there, she immediately envisioned a new home for it.
“I saw this fantastic robot standing in Vestergade and could immediately picture how it would be a great offering for our children and young people here at the hospital.”
The journey from pedestrian street to children’s ward went via the Municipality of Odense, which helped establish contact with the Danish Technological Institute and the other partners through its networks.
Among other things, the Danish Technological Institute has helped adapt the solution to function in a hospital environment – technically, practically, and pedagogically.
When Technology and Play Go Hand in Hand
For Søren Peter Johansen, professional lead at the Danish Technological Institute, the development process is a textbook example of what robotics and cross-sector collaboration can achieve.
“It has been incredibly exciting to be part of developing this tic-tac-toe robot. It’s a great example of how technology and play can be combined to benefit patients and their families in a hospital setting. And it’s also a strong example of how public and private actors can work together.”
And cross-sector collaboration is indeed at the heart of the project: Universal Robots donated the UR3e robotic arm, OnRobot contributed the robot gripper, OUH and CCR took the lead in bringing the robot into the clinical setting, while the Danish Technological Institute handled programming and technical validation. The Municipality of Odense and the Region of Southern Denmark supported the process through networks and frameworks.
The most important outcome of the collaboration, however, is this:
One robotic arm, nine squares – and countless small moments where illness takes up a little less space, and play takes up a little more.
Further information
Lone Krogsbøll
Investment Manager - Life Science
I help foreign companies in the biotech and life science industry to establish in Odense and connect them to relevant business partners and opportunities here. My background is in health tech, but I’ve focused on broader life science sectors since 2018.
+45 5177 7344
loak@odense.dk
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