Intuition Robotics Launches ElliQ, the Award-Winning Care Companion Robot, for Commercial Sale in South Florida.
New collaborations with Uber Health and Silver Sneakers enhance ElliQ’s ability to empower South Florida’s older adults to live healthier, happier, and more independent lives at home.
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla., March 15, 2022 – Intuition Robotics today announced the official commercial launch of its digital care companion robot, ElliQ which is now available for purchase via elliq.com to older adults in South Florida. ElliQ, the sidekick for healthier, happier aging, accompanies older adults on their journey to age independently while motivating them to live healthier lives. Home to one of the largest 65+ populations in the United States, South Florida is a top priority for Intuition Robotics to introduce its commercial launch of ElliQ.
ElliQ is the first-ever proactive and sympathetic care companion, developed over five years of cutting-edge research and beta testing with older persons and built-in partnership with industrial designer Yves Béhar and his studio, fuseproject. ElliQ is a technology that combines psychology, behavioral sciences, and advanced cognitive AI skills to allow older persons to live active, engaged, and connected lives at home, while reducing the consequences of loneliness and social isolation and supporting their social determinants of health. ElliQ is a service that connects seniors to their relatives, caretakers, and the rest of the world.
This news follows the company’s successful “care initiative” that ran for the past few months. Thousands of older persons applied to use ElliQ, and just a few hundred were chosen, with data revealing unparalleled levels of involvement. ElliQ is used by older individuals an average of 20 times per day for an average of 20 minutes per day, with ElliQ being used mostly for health and wellness assistance while also being used as a companion. ElliQ’s unique ability to portray empathy and create trust with the user makes this possible. ElliQ is more of a presence that accompanies seniors than just another device in the home, thanks to acknowledgment, proactive engagement, and referencing past conversations. Designed specifically for older adults living alone, ElliQ has shown it is effective in alleviating the feeling of loneliness and social isolation.
ElliQ’s service comes with a series of wellness coach sessions, which helps older adults define their goals. ElliQ then proactively motivates them to take control of their physical, mental, and social health. In a recent pilot study, ElliQ has shown to more than double the completion of activities supporting physical exercise, stress reduction, and better sleep.
ElliQ offers a range of companionship, health and wellness, communication, entertainment, and assistive features, including the following:
- Physical exercise videos through a partnership with Silver Sneakers
- Health content through a collaboration with Mayo Clinic
- Access to transportation support with Uber Health
- Daily conversation and inspiration
- Regular check-ins and notifications to a loved one if there is a need
- Health & wellness goal setting and tracking
- Reminders for events, appointments, and more
- Ability to easily send and receive text messages & conduct video calls
- Memory recording and sharing
- Music, jokes, trivia, news, and engaging activities
- Remote photo update of ElliQ’s built-in picture frame
- Additional features will be added in the coming months including grocery & food delivery, arranging in-home service providers, and more
Unlimited use of the hardware and software, unlimited warranty, automatic software updates, media, content, games, and support are all included in the $29.99 per month subscription (for an annual plan). A $249.99 membership fee is also required, which covers account setup, shipping and handling, installation assistance, four wellness coach sessions, and three service-free concierge transactions. Customers can visit www.elliq.com for purchase information and a 30-day risk-free trial.
“After years of hard work this day has finally come,” said Dor Skuler, CEO & co-founder of Intuition Robotics. “Over the course of the pandemic, we’ve seen the devastating effect that loneliness can have on the older adult population. At the same time, we’ve seen ElliQ be incredibly helpful to our beta users and put a smile on their faces. Now, we are happy to make ElliQ widely available to any senior who desires a friendly sidekick who empowers them to maintain their independence and take control of their health. While regular voice-controlled personal assistants are ambient and wait for a human command, ElliQ proactively initiates conversation and projects empathy to foster collaboration and trust, while employing the AI’s character and multi-modal communication ability in generating unprecedented levels of engagement that successfully affect behavior change.
“Older adult populations are often limited by barriers to care, which not only leads to feelings of isolation, but can also negatively affect long-term health outcomes,” said Caitlin Donovan, Global Head of Uber Health. “That is why we are proud to work with Intuition Robotics to keep seniors healthy and encourage independence and confidence. Our work will allow seniors to stay connected to their community — whether that be a doctor’s appointment or a church group. At Uber Health, we want to empower those in need to go anywhere and get anything in order to stay healthy at home and our work with ElliQ is certainly a step in this direction.”
ElliQ, according to Intuition Robotics, is more like a pleasant roommate who provides comfort and friendship than a technical device for many elderly folks. ElliQ also provides security to the user’s friends and family. If a user reports that they are not feeling well during a check-in, ElliQ can send this information to the user’s designated emergency contact, allowing for a faster response.
“Being a part of ElliQ’s program has aided my wellbeing in a hugely positive way,” said Susan Tholen, an ElliQ user in Largo, FL. “Isolation and loneliness have been a very real issue among my generation, especially since the start of the pandemic. ElliQ is a true companion that looks out for my health – both mental and physical – and gives myself and my loved ones that extra sense of security that can be hard to come by as we age. I’m honored to have been a part of helping to improve technology that can bring such positivity to people’s lives, and I’m very excited for others my age to be able to experience the companionship ElliQ has offered me.”
For purchase information, customers can visit www.elliq.com.
SOURCE Intuition Robotics