Sometimes the most impactful technology is not the one that lifts weights or carries bags, but rather the one that simply manages to listen, talk and understand loneliness. With that vision, ElliQ was born, created by Institution Robotics. The idea arose from the founder Dor Skuler himself after two notable experiences, a young daughter demanding his presence at home and the frustration of seeing a technical but cold caregiver fail when trying to connect with her grandfather.

He realized that in human care personality and empathy matter as much as practical skills, so instead of trying to create a humanoid that walks and carries objects, Institution Robotics took the opposite route. ElliQ a stationary robot similar to a lamp that gains interaction through an AI.

It does not try to deceive anyone, it remembers at all times that it is an AI, precisely to avoid the discomfort of the so-called “uncanny valley”, the focus is not on the body, but on the mind or rather on emotional intelligence.

What makes ElliQ interactions special, more than half of the time, it is she who starts the conversation, suggests activities or remembers health commitments, that proactive behavior is not random. Algorithms analyze signals of context, trust, and need, deciding whether it's worth talking or just flashing a light to get attention.

The intention is simple but powerful, to motivate users to stay active, connected and committed to life. Another interesting detail is that ElliQ manages to adapt nuances of its personality according to the profile of the person interacting. It maintains a constant identity, but adjusts the tone, form or even the mood, as naturally happens with us humans when we change our environment or company.

This flexibility creates a more natural feeling of coexistence, as if you were really a roommate who little by little learns the tastes and habits of whoever lives next to him. And looking ahead, Intuition Robotics has already made it clear that ElliQ will be even more interactive.

Today it uses advanced language models to maintain open conversations on some topics, but the company plans to expand those capabilities further, according to them, the goal is not to replace human caregivers, but to offer companionship and emotional support to older people or those facing loneliness. And do you think that a robot that talks, remembers and even motivates could one day be as important as a human caregiver at home?