Yordanka Astardzhieva & Azim Feta, Bulgaria

True innovation often starts with a simple idea—making work easier for people. At Ottobock Bulgaria, this idea became ‘Miranda’, a local people management system created by Azim that has transformed the way we work.

‘Miranda’ is much more than an HR tool. It supports HR, Finance, and all employees by bringing administrative processes into one smart, paperless system. Tasks that once required multiple steps, documents, and follow-ups are now handled seamlessly in one place—saving time, reducing errors, and eliminating unnecessary paperwork.
What makes this achievement truly remarkable is that Azim developed ‘Miranda’ alongside his regular daily responsibilities. Driven by curiosity, ownership, and a strong sense of responsibility, he invested additional time and effort to design a solution tailored to our local needs.

Beyond administrative efficiency, ‘Miranda’ also serves as a local intranet—a central space where employees can find company news, benefit information, and other useful resources. And the journey doesn’t stop there. Azim continuously strives to improve the system, making it smarter, more intuitive, and better aligned with the evolving needs of our teams.

Azim’s work is a powerful example of inventiveness, commitment, and impact. His story deserves to be shared across Ottobock—not only because of what he built, but because of the mindset he represents: seeing opportunities, taking initiative, and creating meaningful change for others.

True innovation often starts with a simple idea—making work easier for people. At Ottobock Bulgaria, this idea became ‘Miranda’, a local people management system created by Azim that has transformed the way we work.

‘Miranda’ is much more than an HR tool. It supports HR, Finance, and all employees by bringing administrative processes into one smart, paperless system. Tasks that once required multiple steps, documents, and follow-ups are now handled seamlessly in one place—saving time, reducing errors, and eliminating unnecessary paperwork.
What makes this achievement truly remarkable is that Azim developed ‘Miranda’ alongside his regular daily responsibilities. Driven by curiosity, ownership, and a strong sense of responsibility, he invested additional time and effort to design a solution tailored to our local needs.

Beyond administrative efficiency, ‘Miranda’ also serves as a local intranet—a central space where employees can find company news, benefit information, and other useful resources. And the journey doesn’t stop there. Azim continuously strives to improve the system, making it smarter, more intuitive, and better aligned with the evolving needs of our teams.

Azim’s work is a powerful example of inventiveness, commitment, and impact. His story deserves to be shared across Ottobock—not only because of what he built, but because of the mindset he represents: seeing opportunities, taking initiative, and creating meaningful change for others.



Tobias Brandt, Germany

I believe Ottobock as a whole must be inventive in order to stay competitive in the market. But even on a smaller scale, we should always try to approach problems with new ideas and solutions.

I believe Ottobock as a whole must be inventive in order to stay competitive in the market. But even on a smaller scale, we should always try to approach problems with new ideas and solutions.

2 results out of 2

Mailin Rehkopp, Germany

Being inventive means, for me, finding new creative solutions to problems and growing beyond oneself.

Being inventive means, for me, finding new creative solutions to problems and growing beyond oneself.



Andreas Schuh, Germany

The Creation of SmartLock

The Creation of SmartLock

A personal experience that reflects the values inventive, smart and reliable all at once is the development of the SmartLock knee joint—from the very first idea or brushstroke to the final functional prototype.

This is the story: At the Ottobock booth at OT World 2022, I was approached by Dries Glorieux in his then‑role as BU Manager for Prosthetics and Rehabilitation at VIGO. He asked whether it would be possible to build a Prosedo knee joint (3R31) in such a way that unlocking could be done without a pull cable and without an unlocking satellite (i.e. the grip piece).

It's important to know that the 3R31 is a locking knee joint for geriatric above‑knee amputees. Like all other mechanical locking knee joints, it has to be unlocked by hand before sitting down. The actual sitting motion then occurs against the resistance of a hydraulic unit, preventing the user from dropping abruptly onto the seat and allowing a smooth and controlled descent.The sit‑down support function is very popular because it provides valuable assistance, especially for MOB 1 users. What has been a major annoyance for all mechanical locking knee joints, however, is precisely this pull cable, which represented the state of the art up to that point. Users only have one hand free for supporting themselves on the armrest when sitting down, because the other hand must always operate the unlocking satellite. If unlocking could be enabled elegantly without a cable, it would significantly improve usability and, ultimately, user acceptance.

With this “assignment,” I returned to Duderstadt and wrote an email to Martin Pusch, asking whether he had a spontaneous idea for how such a solution could be technically implemented. His reply came quickly: “An idea? Much more than that. We even have a granted patent for that solution!” Shortly afterward, we reviewed the patent together and brought in Jens Nörthemann from the development workshop, who was also excited about the idea and contributed his practical knowledge and many years of experience. “This would make a great topic for a student thesis,” we concluded. Some time passed before a suitable candidate for the topic was found. It soon became clear that HAWK student Achim Brecht was a stroke of luck: not only did he learn quickly and stay highly focused, but he also had a background that enabled him to work independently on the machines in the training workshop if needed. With the strong support of our development workshop, two prototypes of different maturity levels were produced in record time.

The basic functionality was validated using a modified test cylinder with an attached release hydraulic unit, originally developed for the Genium X4. Although this test apparatus weighed a hefty 7 kg, Sven Zarling successfully tested it nonetheless. In the next step—and still within the scope of the bachelor’s thesis—the hydraulic unit was reduced to one‑tenth of its weight and integrated into a modified 3R31 weighing approximately 700 g. This final prototype was successfully tested as well and was also presented to a larger audience at The Garage in 2024.

Returning to the original question, “What do our values mean to you?”: Inventive was the idea to replace the pull‑cable unlocking mechanism with a torque‑ and time‑controlled hydraulic system. Smart is this solution because it enables many users to sit down much more easily. And why reliable? Because all the people involved in this project can always be relied upon when it comes to:

• Formulating ideas that often make small everyday tasks easier for people with limited mobility (D. Glorieux, Director Patient Care R&D)

• Presenting solutions for these very ideas (M. Pusch, now in “unretirement”)

• Helping to translate these solutions into an actual design (J. Nörthemann, MML / Creative Lab)

There is also a human component: among the collected papers of a former colleague, I found an early circuit design from 2005 that works on a similar principle. It shows that good things take time—but eventually the stars align.

2 results out of 2

Marie-Louise Uhde, Germany

I create content for our Ottobock Careers Instagram account because so many colleagues, especially our apprentices and dual students, are always open and supportive when it comes to taking part in video shoots and projects. This sense of togetherness is what makes our work feel especially human to me. At the same time, I’m able to work creatively and, together with the team, continuously develop new ideas to showcase Ottobock as an attractive employer. This is exactly where I see how inventive our collaboration truly is.

I create content for our Ottobock Careers Instagram account because so many colleagues, especially our apprentices and dual students, are always open and supportive when it comes to taking part in video shoots and projects. This sense of togetherness is what makes our work feel especially human to me. At the same time, I’m able to work creatively and, together with the team, continuously develop new ideas to showcase Ottobock as an attractive employer. This is exactly where I see how inventive our collaboration truly is.



Svenja Katharina Kiesling, Austria

We show our inventiveness especially when it comes to technological ideas, of which there are far more than available implementation resources, so some of them are even pursued in our free time. But we also become inventive when developing processes, dealing with requirements, or managing a lack of resources. In all areas, there are people who look beyond the obvious, question the status quo, and explore new paths.

We show our inventiveness especially when it comes to technological ideas, of which there are far more than available implementation resources, so some of them are even pursued in our free time. But we also become inventive when developing processes, dealing with requirements, or managing a lack of resources. In all areas, there are people who look beyond the obvious, question the status quo, and explore new paths.

2 results out of 2