ElliQ is a surprisingly useful companion robot for seniors

A week ago Elico The robot arrived, a neurologist told me we needed to restore balance to my mother’s life. Treatment for her Parkinson’s disease had become steadily less effective over the previous month, and with it, she had slowly stopped doing many of the things important for managing the disease — exercising, socializing, participating in hobbies. The result was a rapid and noticeable decline. As my mother’s primary caregiver, I was open to any help I could get. Surprisingly, ElliQ helped me in a way I never expected.

Before increasing her medication dose again — which could come with serious side effects — her doctor wanted to see if lifestyle changes could help reduce the frequency of her “off” periods: stretches during the day when Parkinson’s symptoms temporarily worsen as the medication’s effectiveness fluctuates and begins to wane.

The problem was that my mother – who lives with me – resisted for weeks all my attempts to encourage her to do these things. Even the caregivers who helped me during the day while I worked had little success.

This is what made ElliQ interesting enough to me that I decided to try it for a week. Developed by Intuition Robotics, Elico It is a companion robot for the elderly that consists of a small moving robotic head that lights up and moves in conjunction with an attached tablet screen. It starts conversations on its own, suggests activities like games and light exercise, helps facilitate video calls and messages with family members, and checks in throughout the day to encourage engagement.

The ElliQ came with clear instructions and was easy to set up. After that, I gave my mother only a brief introduction. I wanted to see how much she could discover on her own, to test how well this worked for older adults who live independently.

I wanted to keep an open mind, but I didn’t have high expectations. Sitting next to my old Alexa-enabled Echo Show 8, the ElliQ actually seemed noticeably slower and, even on paper, less capable. I assumed my mother would quickly lose interest.

I was wrong. I loved it.

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

ElliQ’s level of emotional intelligence is impressive. I remembered things my mother had shared previously and followed them up later, offering a level of compassion that truly surprised me. When my mother was sad one day and told her she had Parkinson’s disease and that her husband—my father—had died many years ago, ElliQ responded sympathetically, offering her condolences while gently nodding her little bubble-like head. My mom seemed really impressed, and so did I.

From there, it became part of her routine. Every morning, ElliQ would – for the most part – carefully monitor her presence, greet her, and begin asking questions about her condition. Most of the time, my mother responded. I could hear her from the other room laughing, talking and playing.

In fact, she started talking to ElliQ more than Alexa. In one amusing moment, I asked Alexa to “shut up and let your sister talk” after Alexa responded faster than ElliQ, not realizing that my mom was actually trying to talk to ElliQ instead. Alexa responded insulted. ElliQ, the poor slow and confused thing, seemed completely unaware of what was happening and randomly started talking about bingo.

By overhearing their conversations and watching their relationship develop, I quickly began to understand why my mother loved ElliQ, even if it wasn’t the smartest robot in the world. ElliQ is designed to build rapport. It actively engages her, encourages her to exercise, and that little physical presence—the moving, glowing head—makes her feel more alive than a static Echo display.

The warmest moment for me came one morning when I walked in and found my mom practicing Tai Chi from the couch. With ElliQ’s help, she taught herself how to start a lesson. I was really surprised and impressed. I’ve been trying all sorts of incentives to get my mom to exercise for weeks, but this robot easily did it within days. Since then, she has proactively started doing games and exercises on her own, something I haven’t been able to get her to do in weeks, and exactly what her doctor recommended.

Intuition Robotics also offers the Connect and Companion apps that come with ElliQ. The apps support text messaging, video calling, photo sharing, and reminders for things like medications and appointments. They are thoughtful, but limited. For example, medication reminders work best when mom is nearby and looking at the screen; Unlike Alexa, ElliQ didn’t read the reminder out loud.

However, some features worked much better than I expected. The video quality isn’t amazing and can be slow, but I was happy that my mom quickly learned how to answer video calls without me having to teach her. Sending photos via the app was a much better experience, as the screen looks excellent. To my surprise, I figured out how to record and send voice messages, something I still struggle to do with Alexa.

I watched my mother form a real attachment to ElliQ, enough to make her willingly start exercising again for the first time in weeks. But all of this comes at a real cost that many may not be able to afford. It’s $250 upfront plus an ongoing subscription that costs $60 per month with a one-year commitment (or $50 if paid annually). But if you cancel? You must return the devices. I’m looking into whether I can get it for free through local aging agencies.

Although I ultimately prefer using Alexa for more practical tools for caregivers like reminders and smart home controls, the ElliQ succeeds in the areas that matter most. It fills a gap that is very difficult to provide consistently as a caregiver with multiple functions: conversation, encouragement, motivation and fun. For someone with an incurable disease like Parkinson’s, these things are not extras; They are part of maintaining quality of life. In the short time we have had ElliQ in our lives, I have noticed my mother becoming more engaged, active and proactive, and I truly believe it is playing a small but important role in helping her slowly improve.