RoPets: Companions for Life

Providing companionship to the elderly and disabled through AI-powered robotic pets that monitor health and emotional well-being.

Team Size:
1
Location:
Australia
Founders:
Nesli Avgan, John Magnifico, Tansel Ersavas, Ali Goktogan
Program(s):

The Problem

The problem we are looking to solve is loneliness, which most people experience in their lives, but particularly hard to deal with for the elderly and disabled. Loneliness is not just a feeling, it is the result of disconnection of people from each other, that does not only impact them psychologically, but also is a source or compounding factor of many physiological problems.

The Solution

Our solution is to offer people RoPets, robotic pets that use an advanced AI system we call Emotion Engine. This AI-based system can enable connection with people. Using a virtual or real robotic platform, it uses sensors to detect their health and emotional well-being. We use various sensors, including cameras, millimetre radar, and data from wearables. We developed a series of prototypes during our preparation for the Peter Farrell Cup (UNSW’s most prestigious Founders competition, which we joined and won last year). Our prototype is Frankie the 4th, a robotic platform that uses a quadruped mechanical base, a Raspberry Pi-based controller, and a separate backend currently using Whisper and ChatGPT APIs to communicate with our RoPet. Our initial business model is B2B through elder and disabled care centres. We have received a warm reception and interest in the sensor technology we use to be applied to such centres and home care organisations.