Mabu

A simple yellow robot with a tabletop base supporting an egg shaped head which has big brown eyes. It holds a tablet which has text on it. A container of pills is next to it. — Mabu is here to help. Photo: Catalia Health

Mabu is a personal healthcare companion robot designed to help patients dealing with chronic illness. It has an engaging interface that blinks, makes eye contact, and uses AI to have intelligent, tailored conversations and improve patient care via daily check-ins.

Creator

Catalia Health

Year

2015

Country

United States 🇺🇸

Categories

Medical

Features

Did you know?

Mabu's name is short for two Japanese words: mabudachi, which means friend, and mabuta, which means eyelid.

A senior man looks at the robot. — Edgar and his Mabu, nicknamed Patsy. Photo: Catalia Health

Mabu's tablet screen says "Hi there. It warms my circuitboards to see you. Did you know that's something robots say?" — The robot loves a joke. Photo: Catalia Health

History

Mabu was developed by Catalia Health, a startup founded by Cory Kidd and based in San Francisco, Calif. The robot was a successor to Autom, which Kidd had developed at his previous company, Intuitive Automata. Mabu's shape and appearance were created in collaboration with design firm IDEO. With 6 degrees of freedom, the robot can move its head and eyes and is powered by an Android tablet and custom electronics. The first version of Mabu was introduced in 2015.

The little robot wears a knit cap and holds a tablet that says "Recently, I read that except for water, tea is the most widely enjoyed drink in the world." — And fun facts too! Photo: Catalia Health

A large group of Mabu robots. — Time for your meds! Photo: Catalia Health

Specs

Overview: Interface tracks user, makes eye contact, and blinks. AI algorithms based on medicine and psychology best practices to create lasting, tailored engagement with patients. Daily monitoring of at-risk patients with data-driven conversations that can reduced re-admissions to hospitals.
Status: Unknown
Year: 2015
Website: cataliahealth.com
Height: 31 cm
Actuators: Small motors with spur gear drive and rotary potentiometers. Motor control board based on open-source IOIO board and two-channel motor drivers for PWM control.
Degrees of Freedom (DoF): 6 DoF
Materials: ABS plastic, custom machine metal parts.
Compute: Android-powered tablet via custom electronics. Wi-Fi connectivity.
Software: Proprietary software generates conversation tailored for each patient.
Cost: Free for patients. Organizations pay per patient depending on scope of care.