The Israeli startup Intuition Robotics (Intuition Robotics) Revealed for the first time and featuring the ELLI•Q, robot-My friend for a good return, Artificial intelligence based, which was developed with the aim of improving the lives of senior citizens.
The Israeli start-up Intuition Robotics, which develops social robotics technologies to help deal with loneliness and social isolation among seniors, will present ELLI•Q for the first time at London's Design Museum. The ELLI•Q robot is a social robot based on artificial intelligence that helps seniors stay active and keep in touch with their loved ones.
According to Intuition Robotics, ELLI•Q will help seniors deal with the complexity of the digital world, allowing them to easily use a wide variety of technologies, such as: video calls, online games and social media, to strengthen and improve their relationship with family and friends.
ELLI•Q encourages an active lifestyle and actively initiates suggestions for connecting to online content, such as: TED talks, music and audio books, recommends real-world activities, such as: going for a walk after watching TV for a long time, taking medication on time, getting to appointments and appointments, and helping to keep For contact with family and friends with the help of technological means such as a chatbot on Facebook Messenger, all this with the aim of dealing with the 'epidemic' of loneliness and social isolation that is increasing among the elderly.
The London Design Museum will present a prototype of ELLI•Q in the exhibition "New Old: Designing for our future selves" which will open on January 12, 2017.
ELLI•Q expresses itself in a clear and easy to understand way thanks to the use of "natural communication" which includes: body language that expresses emotions, speech interface, dynamic lighting and images. Also, ELLI•Q uses machine learning (Machine Learning) to learn the personality, behavior and preferences of its owner, and uses the accumulated knowledge and family recommendations, to offer personalized activities for the specific needs of its owner.
According to Dore Schooler, CEO-Founder of Intuition Robotics: "Loneliness and social isolation are the result of an ever-longer life expectancy and accelerated technological development, which forces people of the third age to develop new technological skills in order to perform the simplest tasks. Our goal is to leverage the combination of the technology we have developed, knowledge of gerontology (the study of aging) and user-friendly design, to enable seniors to use technology intuitively, easily find content that suits them, communicate with their loved ones and maintain an active lifestyle. We like to think of ELLI•Q as a combination of external relations coordinator, private tutor and coach. It's easy to talk to her, easy to manipulate her and she understands her owner very well."
A study published in the journal "Association for Psychological Science" presents evidence that people who experience social isolation or live in poverty are at a 30% higher risk of early death. According to the American Association of Retired Persons, about 30% of the population aged 60+ reported that they sometimes feel lonely, and yes, one out of every two women aged 75+ lives in limbo. Social isolation in old age negatively affects a person's physical and mental condition, leads to cognitive decline and even increases the chance of getting Alzheimer's. Maintaining an active lifestyle, both physically and mentally, has many benefits, among them: a higher level of functioning, better health and better cognitive function.
The innovative and elegant design of ELLI•Q is the product of a collaboration with Yves Béhar, one of the most successful industrial designers in the world, and the award-winning "fuseproject" studio under his management. ELLI•Q is uniquely designed, different from how most of us imagine a 'traditional' robot. It consists of two separate parts: ELLI•Q itself, which displays human qualities through "body language", speech, sound and light. LED lighting, combined with a wide range of movements, are used to express gentle emotions and humanize the robot into a warm and friendly creature. The second part is a screen that displays content and operates from its designated stand or from the palm of the user's hand.
"The idea of a social robot is dystopian, especially for older people. During years of research, we developed a design language and user experience that, combined with subtle expressions, create a "natural" feeling of a unique connection between ELLI•Q and its owner. ELLI•Q can never be a substitute for real human interaction, but it is certainly an important driving factor in maintaining an active lifestyle for people living in their homes," says Yves Bahar, CEO and chief designer of fuseproject.
Intuition Robotics is expected to begin its trial phase in February 2017, in the homes of seniors living in the San Francisco area, this is in addition to trials being conducted in Israel with an English-speaking population.
