Companion Robot

A service robot mainly meant for emotional company and conversation, not for doing chores.

A companion robot is a category of service robot whose main job isn't carrying things or housework, but talking with a person, responding to their emotions, and reminding them of their schedule, commonly used for people living alone, especially the elderly, for children, and as a pet substitute. Representative examples include Paro, the seal-shaped therapeutic robot from Japan's National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology; ElliQ, Intuition Robotics' desktop companion for older adults; and GROOVE X's LOVOT. They generally don't aim for dexterous manipulation, focusing instead on human-robot interaction, such as voice, expression, and touch feedback, and maintaining a relationship over the long term. Large language models have noticeably improved these products' conversational ability, but whether they can genuinely ease loneliness, or risk creating emotional dependency, remains a focus of research and ethical debate.

ExampleElliQ proactively asks an elderly user how they're feeling today and suggests listening to music or video-calling family, aimed at easing the loneliness of living alone.

Also called

Emotional Companion Robot, Social Companion Robot

Related

Service Robot · Human-Robot Interaction · Consumer-Grade Robot · To Consumer (B2C) · Large Language Model · Uncanny Valley

Sources

ElliQ - Wikipedia
Exploring LOVOT robots as companions for older adults - PMC