It’s like a scene out of a Pixar movie — but in reality this 120cm robot Abi is the real deal. The robot companion is the brainchild of mechatronics engineer Grace Brown who developed the Abi during the COVID lockdown. “We have a loneliness epidemic right? People are more distracted and more disconnected than ever before and there’s not going to be people to solve that problem for us, it has to be technology.” Grace has been vocal about the fact companion robots to date have been to clinical and wanted to create something more friendly and animated. HOW DOES ABI WORK? Abi, who is on show at the South by South West event in Sydney, is powered by a powerful computer from NVIDIA Jetson. The friendly machine learns her surrounding through audio and visual cues, has access to the internet which helps form her behaviour and responses and even has a bank of memories. In fact Abi can blow bubbles, perform Tai Chi and offers a little bit of sass. “Oh darling, I feel like a kid in a candy store, like Beyonce at Coachella”. ABI IN NURSING HOMES Abi has been a hit with nursing home residents in Melbourne and could become a permanent resident with a trial currently being setup. After experiencing the isolation and disconnection of COVID, Grace was inspired to help older Australians facing similar struggles. That drive led her to conduct local market research, discovering Abi could offer a real solution. The aim is to have 50 built by the end of this year with 100 in the next 12 to 18 months.