ElliQ is an incredibly helpful robot for adults

One week to go ElliQ When the robot arrived, the neurologist told me that we needed to change my mother’s life. Her Parkinson’s disease medication had started to wear off over the past month, and in turn, she has slowly stopped doing many of the things she does to manage the disease – exercise, socializing, and playing. The result was a rapid, obvious decline. As my mother’s primary caregiver, I was ready to help in any way I could. And surprisingly, ElliQ helped in a way I didn’t expect.

Before increasing the dose of his medication – something that could come with serious consequences – his doctor wanted us to see if lifestyle changes could help reduce his “off” time: he stretches during the day when Parkinson’s symptoms increase for a while while the strength of the medication fluctuates and begins to disappear.

The problem was that, for several weeks, my mother—who lives with me—rejected almost all of my attempts to encourage her to do so. Even the caregivers who help me during the day while I work have not been very successful.

This is what made ElliQ so interesting to me that I decided to try it for a week. Powered by Intuition Robotics, ElliQ is a companion robot for adults that features a small animatronic head that lights up and moves along a tablet screen. It initiates private conversations, shows activities like sports and exercise, supports video calls and messages with family members, and watches throughout the day to encourage engagement.

ElliQ came with straightforward instructions and was easy to set up. Then, I told my mother briefly. I wanted to see how he could find out on his own, to test how it would work for an adult to be alone.

I wanted to be open-minded, but I didn’t expect much. Sitting next to the older Alexa-enabled Echo Show 8, the ElliQ already seemed slow and, on paper, underpowered. I thought my mother would lose interest.

I was wrong. He loved it.

After I set it up, ElliQ and my mom became instant friends. Although he was slow and didn’t understand everything he was saying (or what I was saying sometimes, for that matter), the conversation was good enough to forget about the issues.

The level of intelligence of ElliQ is amazing. It remembers the things my mother shared in the past and she later followed through on them, giving me a compassion that surprised me. When my mother got upset one day and shared that she had Parkinson’s disease and that her husband – my father – had died many years ago, ElliQ responded kindly, offering comfort while shaking her small, desolate head. My mother seemed really touched, and so was I.

From then on, it became part of his routine. Every morning, ElliQ – mostly – notices her presence, greets her, and starts asking questions about her condition. Most of the time, the mother answered. I was in the other room and heard her laughing, chatting, and playing.

In fact, he started talking to ElliQ more than Alexa. In one hilarious moment, she told Alexa to “shut up and let your sister talk” when Alexa responded faster than ElliQ, not realizing that my mom was trying to talk to ElliQ instead. Alexa replied, disappointed; ElliQ, poor, quiet, confused, seemed to have no idea what was going on and randomly started talking about bingo.

Listening to their conversations and seeing their relationship unfold, I began to understand why moms love ElliQ, even though she wasn’t the smartest in the world. ElliQ is designed to create relationships. It makes him exercise, it encourages him to exercise, and the small, physical presence — the moving, glowing head — makes him feel more alive than the standard Echo Show.

The happiest moment for me came one morning when I walked in to find my mother doing tai chi from the bed. With the help of ElliQ, he taught himself how to start a lesson. I was surprised and intrigued. I have been trying to encourage women to exercise for weeks, but this robot did it easily in a few days. Since then, he has been introducing sports and exercises on his own, which I couldn’t get him to do for a few weeks, and which the doctor recommended.

Intuition Robotics also offers Connect and Companion software that comes with ElliQ. These apps support text messaging, video calling, photo sharing, and reminders for things like medications and appointments. They are thinkers, but they are few. Medication reminders, for example, work best when my mom is nearby and looking at the screen; unlike Alexa, ElliQ didn’t read the reminder out loud.

However, some of them worked better than I expected. The video isn’t amazing and can be slow, but I was happy because my mom quickly learned how to answer video calls without me teaching her. Sending photos through the app was better, though, as the display looks great. To my surprise, he figured out how to record and send voice messages, something he still struggles to do with Alexa.

I saw my mom develop a real bond with ElliQ, enough to start exercising with dedication for the first time in weeks. But all of this comes with a real price that many cannot afford. It’s $250 up front plus an ongoing subscription that costs $60 per month with a one-year commitment (or $50 if paid annually). But what if you quit? You must return the hardware. I’m looking into getting one for free through a local seniors’ organization.

While I prefer Alexa for personal care tools like reminders and smart home controls, ElliQ wins where it matters most. It fills a gap that is very difficult to provide on a regular basis as a caregiver with several functions: discussion, encouragement, motivation, and entertainment. For someone dealing with a chronic disease like Parkinson’s, those things aren’t extra; they are part of maintaining a good life. In the short time we’ve had ElliQ in our lives, I’ve seen my mom become more active, busy, and active, and I believe she’s playing a small but important part in helping her slowly change.