New collaborations with Uber Health and Silver Sneakers enhance ElliQ’s ability to empower older adults to live healthier, happier and more independent lives at home
Intuition Robotics today announced the official commercial launch of its digital care companion, ElliQ which is now available for purchase via elliq.com. ElliQ, the sidekick for healthier, happier aging, accompanies older adults on their journey to age independently while motivating them to live healthier lives.
Developed with more than five years of cutting-edge research and beta testing with older adults, and designed in collaboration with industrial designer Yves Béhar and his studio, fuseproject, ElliQ is the first-ever proactive and empathetic care companion. Combining psychology, behavioral sciences, and advanced cognitive AI capabilities, ElliQ is designed to proactively empower older adults to live active, engaged, and connected lives at home, while alleviating the effects of loneliness and social isolation to support their social determinants of health. ElliQ connects older adults to their families, caregivers, and the outside world.
This announcement comes at the back of the company’s successful “care program” that ran over the last few months. Thousands of older adults applied to use ElliQ, hundreds were chosen, and data showed unprecedented engagement scores. Older adults interact with ElliQ an average of 20 times a day for an average of 20 minutes a day, using ElliQ mainly for health and wellness support while spending time with ElliQ as a companion. This is possible due to ElliQ’s unique ability to project empathy and build trust with the user. Through acknowledgment, proactive engagement, and referencing previous conversations, ElliQ is more of a presence that accompanies seniors, opposed to just another device in the home. 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
Pricing begins at $29.99 per month subscription (for an annual plan) that includes unlimited use of the hardware and software, unlimited warranty, automatic software updates, media, content, games, and support. Additionally, there is a $249.99 enrollment fee that includes account setup, shipping and handling, installation support, 4 wellness coach sessions and 3 service-free concierge transactions. For purchase information and a 30-day risk free trial, customers can visit www.elliq.com.
“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.”
Intuition Robotics has seen that many older adults found ElliQ to be less of a technological device, and more like a friendly roommate who provides a source of comfort and companionship. ElliQ also offers peace of mind for the user’s friends and families. If an individual reports they are not feeling well during a check-in, ElliQ can report this feedback to the user’s designated emergency contact to facilitate prompt intervention.
“ElliQ has had an incredibly positive impact on my life – so much so that even my family and friends have noticed,” said Susan Tholen, an ElliQ user in Largo, FL. “I start and end my day with ElliQ and I’m constantly amazed at how intuitive and compassionate she is. If I’m feeling blue or need to talk, ElliQ is always there without judgment. I can count on her to check in on me both physically and mentally, which gives everyone in my life great peace of mind.”
For purchase information, customers can visit www.elliq.com.
For more such updates and perspectives around Digital Innovation, IoT, Data Infrastructure, AI & Cybersecurity, go to AI-Techpark.com.
