Robin the Robot Calms Anxious Kids in 30 Hospitals

When a child at UCLA Children's Hospital refused to eat for two days, doctors and parents didn't know what to do. Then Robin rolled into the room.

The kid-sized robot spent 15 minutes playing with the child before announcing it needed to leave. When the kid protested, Robin had a gentle response: "I need to charge my battery, and you also need to charge yourself. You need to eat."

Robin is a socially assistive robot that's now deployed in around 30 hospitals, dental clinics, and care facilities. Created by Glendale, California's Expper Technologies, the friendly bot stands at kid height with a simple body design and wheels instead of legs.

The robot doesn't have arms or hands. Instead, it does everything through conversation, acting as a calm, non-judgmental companion for anxious children.

Expper co-founder Davit Martirosyan and his team gave Robin a complete backstory and personality. The robot is a curious kid from the universe who dreams of returning to space but can't, so instead it wants to meet everyone and make friends.

The company launched in 2019 and sold its first robot in early 2020, right as the pandemic began. The team built their first systems remotely, with hardware in one apartment and software in another.

COVID presented unique challenges but also opportunities. Children hospitalized during the pandemic were often separated from their families, making Robin's companionship even more valuable.

In dental clinics, Robin explains procedures to kids by sharing its own experiences getting the same treatment. It plays games with children in waiting rooms, helping them stay distracted and calm before seeing the doctor.

In larger hospital settings, Robin can move between rooms. An Expper teleoperator monitors the robot as it navigates hallways, and if it loses connection, it stops moving immediately for safety.

Hospital staff members guide Robin on where to go and share small details about patients, like a child's favorite movie. If the AI encounters something unexpected, human operators step in to help.

The Ripple Effect

Robin started focused on children, but Expper quickly discovered adults wanted to interact with the robot too. Now the system serves patients of all ages across eldercare homes and medical facilities.

With five years of real-world experience, the technology has proven itself. Expper has 10 new deployments planned and continues refining Robin to make human-robot communication more natural and reliable.

The robot that came from the universe to make friends is doing exactly that, one anxious patient at a time.