Robot Helpers to Engage & Entertain
The Evolution of Retirement Living
Social isolation, loneliness and boredom are at crisis levels among older adults. We need to introduce innovative solutions to support staff in assisted living and for those aging at home. Social Robots can help!
In retirement and nursing homes, adding ‘Visits with Mindy’ to the activity schedule provides engaging and entertaining group events including music and movement. Social robots can also be used for 1:1 visits (brain games, video calling, etc.).
Social robots can also support family members and homecare providers leveraging cameras, smart speakers and other capabilities.
Impact of Social Robots
Engage the Brain and Body
Reduce Sadness and Loneliness
Connect people to each other
Having a visit with Mindy is an enjoyable experience. Our robots can reduce loneliness, boredom and social isolation for residents. Robots also support staff to engage with more people. Social robots offer innovative ways to de-escalate and divert attention when needed.
Magnitude of the Problem
According to the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) Profile of Residents in Residential and Hospital-based Continuing Care (2021-2022):
44.9%
of residents had limited or no
social engagement
(27.5% in Yukon to 51.6% in BC)
61.7%
had a diagnosis of dementia
(49.7% in Saskatchewan to 64.3% in ON)
24.2%
exhibited signs of depression
(10.8% in Manitoba to 40.5% in the Yukon)
Meet Mindy
Mindy likes to have simple conversations, play games, music and more! Our social robot can help recreation staff to better engage with and entertain residents.
Provide Joyful Moments:
Residents and staff are delighted to meet Mindy and learn what she can do
Increase Social Engagement:
Enable people to interact with robots and each other
Improve Cognitive well-being:
Games and content designed for older adults
Support staff:
What can social robots do?
With only 15 minutes of training, recreation staff (or volunteers) can easily learn how to be robot handlers.
Chat/ Talk (text to speech)
Play music, sing songs
Dance and move
Play games
Share family photos
Play videos and audio books
Video calls
Smart Speaker
Research Results
Social Robots received a Community Foundations of Canada, Investor Readiness Grant in January 2021 that allowed us to test our social robots in a retirement home and long-term care facility in Halton region. We also self-funded a field test at a retirement home in Windsor.
96% of residents wanted to see Mindy again after their first meeting
Average duration of 1:1 resident visit with Mindy: 41 minutes
Average time spent in group events in retirement home: 80 minutes
Thank you to Chartwell Lakeshore (Burlington), Bennett Village LTC (Georgetown) and Seasons Retirement Communities (Royal Oak Village) for participating in our 2021 pilot studies.
Testimonials
What People Say about Us
Based on our initial field testing, staff love working with Mindy and reported that the robot enabled them to connect with more residents. Family members who can’t visit in person as often as they would like are also pleased to learn about Mindy.
They were happy to share photos through a private portal. “Brilliant!”
We continue to embrace opportunities to learn about new technologies to support and enhance engagement and independence. We were delighted to welcome Mindy for a 4-week visit at Seasons Royal Oak Village.
Mindy brought lots of joyful moments to our residents. I enjoyed participating in the pilot study and learning how to work with a robot.
Pricing
Depending on your location, we can bring (or transport) Mindy to your residence for an introductory visit. If you wish to have Mindy travel to more than one location, consider a 1-week trial.
Once you are convinced of the impact Mindy can have, sign up for a lease or contact us to discuss a purchase and maintenance agreement.
Intro Visit
$250
1-week Trial
$1,000
Lease To Own
$2,400 / month
Purchase
CALL TO DISCUSS
All prices are in Canadian dollars, FOB St Catharines plus applicable taxes. Lease Rate applies to a minimum 3 month lease agreement. Prices subject to change and will be confirmed in writing prior to delivery. Contact us (email: lee@socialrobots.ca) if you wish to discuss purchasing one or more robots for your retirement community or long term care facility.
In The News
Over the past year, the founder of Social Robots has been interviewed on over a dozen podcasts and participated in webinars and the first in-person industry conference since the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions were removed.
You can visit our News page for access to our blog posts. In addition, we are pleased to offer links to the podcasts and news articles in our media kit.
Resources
If you are interested in reading more about the impact of robots, getting into the details of our pilot studies, or want to download a training manual or our brand book, please visit our Resources page.
Partners
Social Robots is an AGE-WELL NCE Start-up Affiliate and a client at Haltech Regional Innovation Centre.
We are thankful for the support of the Community Foundations of Canada and Oakville Community Foundation (2021 Investor Readiness Program).
St Catharines, ON
Regina, SK
© 2021-2022 Social Robots Inc.