New Startup Brings Robotics Into Seniors' Homes

INF Robotics has developed robots to offer seniors entertainment and companionship, as well as supply access to emergency services 24/7, track misplaced items, and remind people of appointments and when it is time for them to take medicine, reports Voice of America News . The robots stand slightly over a meter tall, and feature a digital screen in their torsos for virtual check-ins with family and caregivers. INF Robotics founder Anthony Nunez says the robots were developed to help seniors age in place while relieving their caregivers of some of the burden. "We're leveraging the artificial intelligence within our platform to help seniors make better decisions, to allow them stay in their home," he notes. "We're also working on machine learning on a platform and some cognitive computing to identify patterns within the seniors' daily habits that could lead to an adverse event, and identifying those ahead of time, then using our cloud computing on a platform to get that info to caregivers before something happens." INF Robotics employee Carla Rodriguez says the robots' simple design offers ease of use, and the company also consults their potential customers to decide which features they need most in the machines. "Seniors would give us their feedback, 'We don't like this, we don't like that,' we come in and change it," she says.