Competition heats up to attract elderly users in AI robot market

Senior executives from Samsung C&T, Samsung Noble County and Robocare display Home AI Companion Robots in this undated photo. Courtesy of Samsung C&T

A woman in her 70s escaped death last month when a robot with artificial intelligence (AI) alerted a central control system to suicide warning signs after she told the robot she wanted to end her life and asked for help.

The control center immediately asked police to go to her home in Daejeon, where officers helped her reach a hospital for mental health treatment.

The robot was one of the rag doll-style Kumdori robots, modeled after Daejeon's mascot and distributed by the city government earlier this year to monitor the safety and health of 1,000 senior citizens living alone.

Although the Kumdori robot drew attention for saving an elderly user's life, it is not the only AI robot caring for senior citizens in Korea.

Amid growing demand from local governments for means to protect the rising number of seniors living alone, Korean companies are fiercely competing to attract elderly users, who have emerged as key consumers of AI robots.

Dongjak District Mayor Park Il-ha, front row center, poses with senior citizens after distributing Hyodol robots to them at the district office in Seoul, Sept. 1. Courtesy of Dongjak District Office

Samsung C&T's construction division recently began testing Robocare's Home AI Companion Robots at homes of elderly residents in Raemian One Bailey and Raemian One Pentas apartment complexes in Seoul, as well as those in the silver town operated by Samsung Noble County in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province.

After the Korea Institute for Robot Industry Advancement selected the consortium of Samsung C&T, Samsung Noble County and Robocare to carry out the pilot project, the companies will test how the Home AI Companion Robots perform in the real living environments of senior citizens from September to December.

"The Home AI Companion Robot provides emotional care services, protects safety and checks health conditions," Robocare CEO Moon Jeon-il said. "We will improve our products and services through this pilot program."

At last year's IFA tech show in Germany, both Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics introduced their own AI companion robots — Ballie and Q9 — which are currently under development. Ballie is powered by Samsung Gauss and Google Gemini, while Q9 uses LG Furon.

A few years ago, KT also joined hands with Wonderful Platform to supply the local startup's Dasom, a robot that understands conversations with elderly people. Dasom's latest version features a screen and arms to analyze users' emotions and health conditions.

Currently, the most popular AI robot among Korean seniors is Hyodol, a stuffed doll-style robot developed by a domestic startup in 2015. The robot offers customized care based on data gathered through conversations with users.

Equipped with AI sensors and speakers, Hyodol robots have been distributed to more than 10,000 seniors across Korea. Powered by ChatGPT, the latest version of Hyodol was named the Best Mobile Innovation for Connected Health and Wellbeing last year at the Mobile World Congress in Spain.

"Hyodol enables services including the detection of abnormal patterns, emergency responses and personalized health coaching, while prioritizing privacy," Hyodol CEO Kim Ji-hee said. "We are committed to tackling global social issues including the rise in socially isolated households, diversifying care needs and shortages of care staff and resources, beyond Korea."

According to the Korea Innovation Foundation, Korea's care robot market was valued at more than 63.1 billion won ($45 million) in 2021 and is estimated to reach 235.6 billion won in 2027.