ElliQ, a robotic friend, was created to help older adults combat loneliness. According to an AARP Report, about one-third of US adults over the age of 45 reported feeling lonely. Of those individuals counted as being lonely, 41 percent said these feelings have persisted for six years or more. Dor Skuler, CEO and co-founder of Intuition Robotics, believes that introducing a proactive, friendly technology geared to empower older adults will not only help them remain active, but increase their independence and overall happiness.

Social robots, like ElliQ, have become a major trend in the healthcare market to help people stay mentally and physically active with more proactive suggestions. The number of people aging into the 60-plus segment is growing, and the ratio of caregivers to care recipients is declining. Technology and AI elements are helping give older adults a sense of independence and elongating their stay at home. Additionally, loved ones can keep better tabs on their family by making interactions easier with technology.

ElliQ helps connect adults with family and friends, and removes some of the frustrations aging adults feel towards technology. ElliQ can learn about her users and will make proactive suggestions to help them get outside or remind them to drink water to stay hydrated. She also promotes different activities to keep the brain and body engaged. By using AI and machine learning to convey emotion, ElliQ can learn the preferences, behavior and personality of her owner over time.

ElliQ is helping aging adults overcome the digital divide by personalizing her approach in motivating each specific user to obtain specific goals.

“Our goal is to leverage a combination of our proprietary technology, emotive interaction models and gerontology insights with elegant design to empower older adults to intuitively interact with technology and easily connect with content and loved ones, and pursue an active lifestyle,” said Skuler. “We like to think of her as part communication coordinator, part facilitator of lifelong learning and par coach. She’s easy to talk to, intuitive to operate and understands her owner.”