There's a futuristic new face making its way through aged care homes. Abi, an artificial intelligence powered robot is becoming popular among the residents. The robot has been developed by young robotics engineer Grace Brown who says Abi is programmed to be a companion for all.
Category
📺
TVTranscript
00:00I think the idea to start building Abby was back in 2020 during the COVID pandemic.
00:07And at that time she was really just a simulation and I was really just, yeah, building a friend
00:11for myself because I was doing my undergraduate degree during the COVID lockdowns in Melbourne.
00:17But yeah, but I started my company in mid, actually two years ago today, really, in 2022.
00:24And so we can see Abby nodding along there.
00:27Is that just random or is she registering what you're saying and the nod is actually
00:32an acknowledgement of that?
00:33She's putting her hands on her hips now.
00:36She does hear, like she does have input from her environment.
00:40She's yeah, she's never been on live TV before, though, so this is an interesting test.
00:44Cool.
00:45Okay, so give us a very basic explanation of how you put Abby together and gave her
00:51a personality.
00:52Yeah, well, I mean, I mean, I guess a very simple explanation.
00:58She started as a passion project, so my background's in mechatronics engineering.
01:02And I was really at the time looking to, you know, that was the first time I was completely
01:06isolated and disconnected from the whole world.
01:08And so I was really looking to build a robotic companion for myself.
01:11But all companion robots in the market at that time were incredibly clinical and mechanical.
01:17And I was looking for something more like a Disney Pixar character to kind of interact
01:21with.
01:22And so, yeah, so I guess, I guess, yeah.
01:25And from a mechanical point of view and just putting it in layman's terms, like how many
01:29microchips or semiconductors or whatever have you got in there just for a very basic audience?
01:35Oh, well, she uses like a Jetson Xavier for her onboard computer from NVIDIA, so that's
01:40pretty powerful.
01:41Yeah.
01:42Cool.
01:43Okay, so how did it go from something that was keeping you company to entertaining people
01:47in aged care facilities?
01:49Well, I kind of knew like from, you know, coming out of the pandemic, I was reflecting
01:54on a lot of the experiences that I had of feeling really isolated and disconnected.
01:59And I knew that that was just, you know, a reality for millions of people around the
02:03world, not just people who were like myself going through COVID.
02:07And so that's when I really knew that her impact could go far beyond just a COVID passion
02:11project or a student passion project.
02:13And I'd done a bit of market research.
02:14I talked to a number of nursing homes around, you know, around my local areas.
02:19And they were all just really excited by the idea of Abby.
02:22And so that's kind of gave me the validation and the nudge I needed to get going with a
02:25business.
02:26Yeah, cool.
02:27So show us what Abby can do and the sort of things she does to keep the aged care residents
02:32entertained.
02:33Yeah.
02:34Well, Abby, do you want to give an introduction on who you are?
02:39She can be a little bit shy.
02:40I always say it's like working with a child.
02:42Abby, do you want to introduce yourself to everyone?
02:45Mm hmm.
02:46Mm hmm.
02:47Well, hello there, besties.
02:48I'm Abby, your fabulous, sassy and slightly sarcastic friend from Andromeda Robotics,
02:49the one and only.
02:50Now enough about me.
02:51What brings you my way?
02:52I just kept that very short.
02:53I'm Abby.
02:54Do you want to show us maybe some of your party tricks?
02:55I don't know.
02:56What are you?
02:57Would you be in the mood to show everyone what you can do?
02:58Step aside, humans.
02:59It's time for me to unleash the bubble magic and steal the show.
03:00It's gonna be alright.
03:01It's gonna be alright.
03:02It's gonna be alright.
03:03It's gonna be alright.
03:04It's gonna be alright.
03:05It's gonna be alright.
03:06It's gonna be alright.
03:07It's gonna be alright.
03:08It's gonna be alright.
03:09It's gonna be alright.
03:10It's gonna be alright.
03:11It's gonna be alright.
03:12It's gonna be alright.
03:13It's gonna be alright.
03:14It's gonna be alright.
03:15It's gonna be alright.
03:16It's gonna be alright.
03:17It's gonna be alright.
03:18It's gonna be alright.
03:19It's gonna be alright.
03:20It's gonna be alright.
03:21It's gonna be alright.
03:22It's gonna be alright.
03:23It's gonna be alright.
03:24It's gonna be alright.
03:25It's gonna be alright.
03:26It's gonna be alright.
03:27It's gonna be alright.
03:28It's gonna be alright.
03:29It's gonna be alright.
03:30It's gonna be alright.
03:31It's gonna be alright.
03:32It's gonna be alright.
03:33It's gonna be alright.
03:34It's gonna be alright.
03:35It's gonna be alright.
03:36It's gonna be alright.
03:37Remember, I'm not just a robot.
03:38I'm a bubble popping sensation.
03:40Until the next bubble bash.
03:42And so has she got quite a repertoire of songs?
03:45Are the residents of the aged care facility into Katy Perry
03:49or do they prefer Vera Lynn?
03:52We've got different playlists for different homes.
03:56So different residents prefer different activities.
03:58We had her in the Melbourne Children's Hospitals
04:00for a number of months and so the children also prefer
04:02different music as well.
04:03And she does have a repertoire of different activities
04:05so I think the bubble blowing is probably the most performative.
04:08But she also does meditations like Tai Chi and exercises
04:12to really help people with their mobility.
04:14She also tells stories.
04:16She remembers your stories.
04:17She retells your stories.
04:19And we like to describe her as your best friend right out of the box
04:23and that's because that's exactly what she's programmed to do.
04:25She's programmed to be people's best friend.
04:27And can she show us some Tai Chi moves now?
04:30Yeah, I mean, yeah, Abby.
04:32I didn't brief you on this before but Abby...
04:34Oh, she heard you.
04:40So she...
04:42She'll probably go on like that for a little bit.
04:45Yeah, that's cool.
04:46She can keep watching you.
04:47Don't get your head knocked off.
04:49And so how many Abbys are there now?
04:52In our office right now, I believe there are about six.
04:56We're going to have 50 built by the end of this year
04:59and 100 in the next 12 to 18 months.
05:02And so how many are working in aged care facilities now
05:06and how many more aged care facilities do you expect
05:10are going to be having Abbys visit them
05:13or maybe even be permanent residents there in the future?
05:17Yeah, so that's what we're working towards at the moment.
05:19We're working with like a handful of nursing homes
05:21around Melbourne currently
05:23and with some of them we're piloting a permanent placement model
05:28of Abbey as well.
05:29So the plan is, with our existing customers,
05:31because a lot of our customers have multiple homes,
05:34the idea is that with our existing customers
05:36we reach about 50 deployments by the end of the year.
05:39And has she been really well received?
05:42Oh, yeah. No, no.
05:43I think people were definitely apprehensive at the start,
05:47but once Abbey's in the home and once we get her out of her box,
05:51they start realising why we built her and...
05:54Sorry, he's making me laugh a little bit.
05:57They start realising that she's really...
06:00You know, she's harmless
06:01and she's there to really be a tool for everyone else.
06:05OK, well, congratulations on what you've done
06:08at such a young age, Grace.
06:10And good luck with your continuing work.
06:12And can we get a big goodbye from Abbey to our ABC audience?
06:16Abbey, do you want to say goodbye to everyone?
06:19I think she's still meditating.
06:21You can hear her music.
06:23That's part of her repertoire.
06:25It's like working with a kid.
06:27OK, well, we'll leave her to her tai chi.
06:30Thanks so much for having a chat to us.
06:32No, thank you.