Abstract
A service robot is a robot which operates semi or fully autonomously to perform services useful to the well-being of humans and equipment. Service robots are mobile or manipulative or a combination of both. A lot of very interesting service robots have been developed so far. The Fraunhofer IPA has been involved in developments in this emerging sector since the beginning. Examples for state of the art service robots include medical and elderly care robots, autonomous cleaning robots, refueling robots, construction and reconstruction robots etc. Even service robots for advertising and marketing purposes are being developed at the moment. In this paper the emphasis will be on cleaning and medical robots.