Robotics Venture signs a basic agreement with Donuts Robotics Inc. for business collaboration - Aiming to address senior care challenges through the development of care robots that can engage in conversations adapted to health status.
Tokyo-based MEDIROM Co., Ltd. (Head office: Minato-ku, Tokyo; CEO: Kouji Eguchi; NASDAQ: MRM, USA; hereafter, MEDIROM), a holistic healthcare company, and its subsidiary MEDIROM MOTHER Labs (Headquarters: Minato-ku, Tokyo; CEO: Yoshio Uekusa; hereafter, MOTHER Labs) have signed a business partnership agreement with donut robotics Co., Ltd (Head office: Minato-ku, Tokyo; CEO: Taisuke Ono; hereafter, donut robotics), a robot venture featured in TIME magazine in 2022. Using the smart tracker 'MOTHER Bracelet' developed by MOTHER Labs, and the monitoring robot 'cinnamon', developed by donut robotics, the partnership aims to work towards enabling AI-driven conversations with seniors based on vital data.
■Collaboration Background
donut robotics is developing the monitoring robot 'cinnamon' with the aim of integrating it with a customized chat GPT for the elderly. 'cinnamon' has been selected for the Haneda Airport Robot Project, primarily involved in customer service experiments with foreign visitors at Haneda Airport. By combining MOTHER Labs' recharge-free smart tracker 'MOTHER Bracelet', which collects vital data, with a chat GPT fine-tuned for seniors, two parties aim to provide a wide range of services, such as calling out to the person in case of health issues detected and having a conversation adapted to the current health status based on vital data.
■Realization of Care Robots with AI Conversational Features Linked to Vital Data
■Leveraging Large-Scale Language Models (LLM) for AI Conversation Robots Inference and Prediction
■Creating the Infrastructure for 'cinnamon' to Retrieve Data from 'MOTHER'
Tokyo-based MEDIROM Co., Ltd. (Head office: Minato-ku, Tokyo; CEO: Kouji Eguchi; NASDAQ: MRM, USA; hereafter, MEDIROM), a holistic healthcare company, and its subsidiary MEDIROM MOTHER Labs (Headquarters: Minato-ku, Tokyo; CEO: Yoshio Uekusa; hereafter, MOTHER Labs) have signed a business partnership agreement with donut robotics Co., Ltd (Head office: Minato-ku, Tokyo; CEO: Taisuke Ono; hereafter, donut robotics), a robot venture featured in TIME magazine in 2022. Using the smart tracker 'MOTHER Bracelet' developed by MOTHER Labs, and the monitoring robot 'cinnamon', developed by donut robotics, the partnership aims to work towards enabling AI-driven conversations with seniors based on vital data.
■Collaboration Background
donut robotics is developing the monitoring robot 'cinnamon' with the aim of integrating it with a customized chat GPT for the elderly. 'cinnamon' has been selected for the Haneda Airport Robot Project, primarily involved in customer service experiments with foreign visitors at Haneda Airport. By combining MOTHER Labs' recharge-free smart tracker 'MOTHER Bracelet', which collects vital data, with a chat GPT fine-tuned for seniors, two parties aim to provide a wide range of services, such as calling out to the person in case of health issues detected and having a conversation adapted to the current health status based on vital data.
■Realization of Care Robots with AI Conversational Features Linked to Vital Data
■Early Detection of Emergencies
The rising number of elderly people living alone has raised the necessity for elderly care. In collaboration, donut robotics' monitoring robot 'cinnamon' and MOTHER Labs' 'MOTHER' smart tracker are working towards expanding conversational AI capabilities. Their aim is to detect health emergencies at an early stage and provide prompt assistance to senior citizens.
Based on abnormalities in vital data measured by the 'MOTHER' tracker, the monitoring robot 'cinnamon' will ask questions to a person, and if there is no reply, it will send an SMS notification to family members. Furthermore, future features include being able to remotely monitor the situation through cinnamon's integrated camera. In addition, there will be a feature to immediately report cases of elderly falls through 'MOTHER's' proprietary fall detection system. The proposed realization of monitoring robots with AI conversational functionality linked to vital data will expectably improve health management of elderly individuals living alone.
■Leveraging Large-Scale Language Models (LLM) for AI Conversation Robots Inference and Prediction
Creating monitoring robots that can engage in conversations tailored to an individual's well-being has been a long-standing aspiration among developers. Traditional conversational AI could only provide conversations based on whether vital data readings were high or low. However, the emergence of LLMs has enabled 'data-driven inference'.
'cinnamon' retrieves vital data from 'MOTHER' to make human-like inferences and predictions about possible future health risks, incorporating these insights into conversations with the elderly (donut robotics is also developing 'donut LLM' tailored for robot conversations).
■Creating the Infrastructure for 'cinnamon' to Retrieve Data from 'MOTHER'
In the short term, donut robotics plans to equip the monitoring robot 'cinnamon' with the 'MOTHER Gateway,' enabling the automatic acquisition of vital data measured by the 'MOTHER Bracelet'. The aim is to establish a state where a person’s vital data is collected automatically. 'cinnamon' will retrieve the data measured by 'MOTHER' via Bluetooth connection, enabling an environment where the individual or their family can access it through a dashboard online.
■The 'MOTHER Bracelet', Recharge-Free Smart Tracker
The 'MOTHER Bracelet' is the world's first 24/7 recharge-free smart tracker. It uses innovative technology from a Silicon Valley tech company that generates power based on temperature differences between body and surrounding air. As it doesn't require recharging, it eliminates the data loss that can occur when a device is taken off for charging. This single device can record five fundamental health metrics: steps, sleep quality, calories burned, heart rate, and body temperature.
※WPO, PATENTSCOPE, the Japan Science and Technology Agency, J-GLOBAL, and J-PlatPat have confirmed intellectual property related to recharge-free activity tracker utilizing the Seebeck effect (as of July 3, 2021, based on ESP Research)
■The 'cinnamon', Monitoring Robot
■About donut robotics Co., Ltd
■About MEDIROM MOTHER Labs Inc.
Official Website: https://mother-bracelet.com
※WPO, PATENTSCOPE, the Japan Science and Technology Agency, J-GLOBAL, and J-PlatPat have confirmed intellectual property related to recharge-free activity tracker utilizing the Seebeck effect (as of July 3, 2021, based on ESP Research)
■The 'cinnamon', Monitoring Robot
'cinnamon' is a monitoring robot, designed and marketed by donut robotics Co., Ltd, featuring conversational AI capabilities. Tailoring chat GPT for the elderly, it initiates conversations with seniors when they are close or pass by the robot. As the number of elderly individuals living alone is rapidly increasing, monitoring robots aim to alleviate the loneliness experienced by many senior members by leveraging the latest technologies, with the goal of improving overall well-being and quality of life.
■About donut robotics Co., Ltd
・Company’s Overview
Company Name: donut robotics Co., Ltd
Headquarters: Toranomon Hills Business Tower 1-17-1 Toranomon, Minato-ku, Tokyo
CEO: Taisuke Ono
Establishment: 2014
Business Area: Manufacture, sale, and design of small robots, smart earphones, and related products.
・Company’s Overview
Company Name: MEDIROM Healthcare Technologies Inc.
Listed Market: NASDAQ
Ticker Symbol: MRM
Headquarters: Tradepia Odaiba, 2-3-1 Daiba, Minato-ku, Tokyo
CEO/Founder: Kouji Eguchi
Establishment: July 2000
■About MEDIROM MOTHER Labs Inc.
MEDIROM MOTHER Labs, a subsidiary within the MEDIROM Healthcare Technologies Inc., primarily focuses on the health tech sector. The company’s core activities include 'Specific Health Guidance Program' offered through the 'Lav' health app and development and sales of the 24/7 recharge-free 'MOTHER Bracelet' smart tracker. The tracker’s popularity raised a record-breaking 56.1 million yen on a crowdfunding platform 'Makuake'. The company offers customizable health management solutions across diverse sectors, spanning caregiving, logistics, and transportation by leveraging 'MOTHER' recharging-free features.
・Company Overview
Company Name: MEDIROM MOTHER Labs Inc.
Headquarters: Tradepia Odaiba, 2-3-1 Daiba, Minato-ku, Tokyo
Representative: Kouji Eguchi, Yoshio Uekusa
Establishment: July 2023
Business Area: Health Tech Business / Device Business / Software Services