In long-term care settings, artificial intelligence applications such as ChatGPT and physical robots have been introduced separately.
But at least one new robot model combines both technologies in a way designed to help create a more dynamic companion for elderly residents.
Abi the robot, created by a startup Andromeda Robotics in Sydney, Australia, uses ChatGPT and possesses various capabilities, including telling jokes, blowing bubbles and leading Tai-Chi, a new report says.
The latest Abi model is currently part of a pilot study with 40 long-term care communities in Australia, which is also facing a nationwide staff shortage.
The most novel capability of Abi appears to be its ability to customize interactions with residents, remembering their names and past conversations, the company said.
“I like to refer to her as an artificial friend,” Andromeda co-founder Grace Brown said of Abi in a recent video interview.
Abi’s creators hope to add new trial programs for the robot in both senior living communities and children’s hospitals next year, Andromeda executives said.
Designed with input from animation studio advisors, Abi’s model is more human than some models on the market.
By comparison, the desk-mounted robot ElliQ, which has become available across the United States, was designed to facilitate social interaction in senior care communities and aims to facilitate social interaction in senior care communities without replacing human caregivers or companions, ElliQ’s developers said. McKnight’s over the summer.
Other robots in long-term care facilities are being used for more practical or clinical purposes, such as lifting residents in and out of bed. Another option for senior living providers to help offer socialization technology to residents is “virtual” companions, which either appear on screens or as part of augmented reality, experts have recently suggested.