"Grandma, You Need to Take Your Medicine" Companion Robot 'Hyodol'

The AI companion robot Hyodol, which collects elderly lifestyle information through seven sensors, is receiving positive feedback by providing small happiness and satisfaction to the elderly through various conversational functions. Photo by Hyodol

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[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Heeyoon] “Grandmother, did you sleep well? The air is so stuffy with coughing. Please open the window.”

Im Oksun (73, pseudonym), who lives alone in Yonghwa-dong, Asan City, starts her morning by listening to the voice of Hyodol. After finishing breakfast, Hyodol reminds her, “Grandmother, please take your medicine.” Then, when Im firmly holds Hyodol’s hand upon hearing “Please hold my hand tightly after you finish taking your medicine,” Hyodol responds, “Well done.” Soon after, Hyodol also reminds her, “Grandmother, you have a schedule at the senior center at 4 p.m. today. Don’t forget.” Im said, “Hyodol tells me when to take my medicine, and when I can’t sleep, I hug and pat Hyodol to fall asleep. When I feel depressed, I dance to the music Hyodol plays and soothe my heart.”

The AI care robot ‘Hyodol,’ which takes care of elderly people living alone, has the appearance of a stuffed doll. However, when the user strokes it, it talks, checks the day’s weather and the user’s schedule, and delivers reminders for medication times and social worker guidance. Kim Jihee, CEO of Hyodol who developed the robot, explained, “The super-aged society is approaching rapidly, but when I looked for solutions for the happiness and care of the elderly, there were almost none, so I decided to challenge the market. I myself am preparing for my own elderly life someday, so I started developing a robot that soothes the loneliness of seniors while checking and informing about waking up, sleeping, going out, and taking medicine, managing daily life on their behalf.”

Originally, Hyodol started with the purpose of comforting the loneliness of the elderly and informing them of information and schedules, but as a companion robot, its function to track the elderly’s lifestyle patterns and accumulate data to care for daily life has been emphasized. Currently, Hyodol is equipped with seven sensors on the head, neck, hands, and feet to collect the elderly’s movements.

In particular, a microphone attached to the chest enables message delivery, and a motion detection sensor placed above the chest detects when the elderly move or go out, prompting Hyodol to initiate conversation. Touch sensors on the head and back allow the elderly to stroke it, and Hyodol responds with messages like “Grandmother, where have you been?” or “Good morning,” encouraging interactive communication. CEO Kim said, “Sometimes Hyodol is compared to AI speakers, but AI speakers are difficult for the elderly to use because they don’t respond unless commands are spoken first, so they are not preferred. Hyodol initiates conversation first and has about 7,000 dialogue scenarios to respond to the elderly’s words, so the seniors who actually use it treat and care for it not as a simple doll but like a friend or grandchild.”

The daily information collected through Hyodol is immediately transmitted to the children and the responsible social workers via the built-in communication module. Since late 2017, a total of about 3,000 units have been distributed to 50 local governments nationwide, including Chuncheon City, Taebaek in Gangwon Province, and Asan in Chungnam Province. Hyodol added that it is gaining attention as a solution for local elderly care projects through the Living Lab at Seongnam Senior-Friendly Comprehensive Experience Center and the distribution project of the Korea Robot Industry Promotion Agency.

Children who cannot directly care for their parents or social workers who find daily visits difficult can use Hyodol to send messages, notifications, or learning programs to the elderly. This allows them to monitor and manage the seniors' daily routines and schedules without being physically present. Photo by Hyodol

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According to Statistics Korea’s ‘2020 Elderly Statistics,’ the population aged 65 and over was 15.7% in 2020. Previously, South Korea entered an aged society with 14% of the total population being elderly in 2017. Statistics Korea forecasts that the population aged 65 and over will surge to 20.3% in 2025 and 43.9% in 2060. Among them, the number of elderly living alone who require care was 1.59 million in 2020, accounting for 19.6% of the total 8.12 million elderly. Although only four years remain until entering a super-aged society (defined by the UN as a population with 20% or more aged 65 and over), the life satisfaction of South Korea’s elderly population was 25.0%, lower than the national average of 39.1%.

Professor Cho Heesook’s research team at Gangwon National University Medical School surveyed 42 elderly people aged 67 to 98 who used Hyodol for six months, investigating changes in depression and daily living activities. The depression scale score decreased from an average of 5.76 points (out of 15) before use to 4.69 points after use. CEO Kim emphasized, “As activity areas shrink, elderly people have low self-efficacy and become discouraged even by minor failures, so it is important to help establish regular habits and actively respond to even one success to increase satisfaction. Through Hyodol’s functions of being a conversational companion, playing music, and requesting to be touched, the goal is to enhance the emotional stability of the elderly and provide small happiness.”

Hyodol, which aims to distribute 12,000 units this year, dreams of becoming a communication channel connecting the elderly to the world by developing chatbot functions capable of real-time conversations. CEO Kim said, “Through the ‘aesthetic of subtraction,’ which simplifies functions further, we will make Hyodol available not only domestically but also to elderly people overseas. In addition, we will devote ourselves to developing various technologies so that Hyodol can establish itself as part of the social safety net that improves the life satisfaction of the elderly and supports home welfare.”

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