Sovereignty

Who can see which data, and where is it stored?

Robots capture camera images, voice commands, position data, and task histories. In a hospital, the question of where this data flows is not a formality.

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Cloud, on-premise, or fully offline

Fully offline

Operation without internet access, for the highest security and KRITIS requirements: encapsulation makes devices deployable even where the operating model used to be the obstacle.

On-premise

Full data sovereignty in your own data center: processing and storage stay within your own environment — the right choice under strict internal policies.

Cloud

Fast start, central management and automatic updates: the right choice for rollouts across multiple sites, without building your own server infrastructure.

This also applies to robots from manufacturers outside the EU: the connection to the manufacturer cloud can be cut, and Axiona takes over control locally.

For KRITIS facilities and under NIS-2: role-based access, complete logging, auditable operation.

KRITIS & NIS-2

What KRITIS and NIS-2 mean for your robot operations

A concise short paper summarizes how to run service robotics along the documentation duties from KRITIS and NIS-2.

Reduce the documentation burden along the supply chain, without vendor lock-in as a compliance risk
Encapsulated, auditable operation: cloud, on-premise or fully offline
Data kept in your environment, even for robots from outside the EU

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The data protection assessment of service robots in hospitals has been published with contributions from Athegus: Buchner, Schmidt, Wilhelm, DuD 49 (8), 2025, DOI 10.1007/s11623-025-2133-0

Why an additional layer

Why the benefit arises outside the individual device

A robot driving down a corridor is not, by itself, relief. It arises where robots / building systems / IT meet: the order from the department system, the elevator, the door, the access system, the logged handover. Every one of those points lies structurally outside the individual device — which is why the benefit arises in the layer above.

Storage location is not the same as access

A server on your premises says nothing about who can look at it from a distance. The European Data Protection Board spelled this out in Guidelines 05/2021 (Version 2.0, 14 February 2023): remote access from a third country can be a transfer, even where data is merely displayed on a screen (para. 16) — provided the three cumulative criteria from para. 9 are met. That translates into a design principle, not a vote of no confidence: no standing remote access. Remote support runs as a session, activated by your organization, time-limited, logged — which is how remote support can be reliably agreed in a regulated environment.

What stays inside the facility

“What never leaves the facility needs no transfer basis.” That is not a legal trick, but a consequence of how data is held: para. 17 of Guidelines 05/2021 clarifies that purely internal processing, where data is not disclosed to another controller or processor, is not a transfer within the meaning of Chapter V. If coordination runs locally, maps, orders, telemetry, and recordings stay inside your environment; the assessment shifts from “on what basis do we transfer this?” to “does anything leave the building at all?” Three operating modes — cloud, on-premise, and fully offline — carry the same functional logic; the mode remains an operating decision your organization makes.

Independent of the origin country's legal situation

For some countries of origin in service robotics, an adequacy decision by the European Commission exists — for Japan and the Republic of Korea, for example — for others it does not. That is a statement about the legal situation, not a judgement of any country. An encapsulable architecture makes you independent of that distinction, because you do not have to answer the question anew for every manufacturer — good hardware qualifies for more tenders, not fewer.

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More choice, without switching systems

More robots on the market mean more choice for you. A neutral control layer ensures you can use that choice without switching your system.

Frequently asked

Sovereignty and compliance

What does a robot's country of origin mean for data protection?+

What matters is not where the device comes from, but what leaves your facility. If coordination runs locally, maps, orders, telemetry, and recordings stay inside your environment; what never leaves the facility needs no transfer basis. That simplifies the data protection assessment and reduces the documentation burden. Assessing an individual case remains with your data protection function and your legal counsel.

What data leaves the building in offline mode?+

None. In fully offline mode Axiona runs without an internet connection; no data is transmitted to external services, and all data stays in your environment.

Does Axiona run fully offline?+

Yes. Axiona supports three operating modes: cloud, on-premise and fully offline. In fully offline mode Axiona runs without an internet connection. No data is transmitted to external services, all data stays in your environment.

What do KRITIS and NIS-2 mean for service robotics?+

KRITIS and NIS-2 require demonstrable security along the supply chain. Vendor-neutral, encapsulable and auditable middleware supports these requirements through auditable operation, depending on the setup.

How does Axiona avoid vendor lock-in?+

Axiona controls robots and building systems in a vendor-independent way via a standardized core. This keeps you independent of any single manufacturer.

Clarify your security questions?

We discuss your compliance requirements from GDPR to KRITIS.

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