IT House reported on May 29 that New York State plans to provide AI companion robots to seniors living alone, designed to help seniors feel connected to their loved ones, and it will be distributed free of charge.
The robot is called ElliQ, a robot tasked with being a “friendly presence” in its owner’s daily life. The New York State Office on Aging (NYSOFA) is partnering with ElliQ’s parent company, Israel-based Intuition Robotics, to distribute 800 ElliQs to the state’s senior residents.
“This product does a lot to improve health, eliminate loneliness, and increase overall well-being and independence,” NYSOFA director Greg Olsen said in a release.
The most important feature of ElliQ is its simplicity, it’s not a robot running around a room doing chores. The robot is programmed to interact with users using natural language patterns, rather than simply following a preset list of commands. It encourages owners to set goals, play cognitive games, and exercise their bodies and minds.
ElliQ comes with a dedicated tablet. Like a smart assistant, ElliQ can do specific tasks like booking a bike-share and setting reminders; it can also be used to send messages to friends and family in an emergency, and the robot can easily make and receive video calls.
ElliQ isn’t just an Alexa replacement, though, it’s more of a companion, an active companion.ElliQ initiates conversations and makes personalized recommendations without prompting.
In its press release, NYSOFA noted that the U.S. Secretary of Health stated as early as 2017 that social distancing is an epidemic that adds about $6.7 billion annually to the Medicare budget. This ElliQ program is a direct attempt to combat the epidemic.
IT House understands that NYSOFA’s case managers will approve applications for free ElliQ based on the applicant’s age, Wi-Fi access and a number of questions designed to determine their level of isolation. Intuition Robotics staff will then install the robot and assist with training.
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