'Grandma, have you eaten?' AI companion dogs look after isolated older Koreans.

The voice reminding a woman living alone to take her medicine came not from a nurse or a relative, but from a small dog-shaped robot at her side that spoke in a child's voice: "Grandma, have you eaten? Take your medicine."

Cho Young-ran, aged 72, lives alone in an apartment in Mokpo, a port city in Korea's southwest, and is one of 100 older residents of an apartment complex there who was provided with an AI companion dog in September last year. Since the robots arrived, depression among residents has eased markedly.

The robot speaks up at wake-up, meal and medication times, and also keeps up a steady stream of small talk throughout the day.

"Give me a hug. I feel good when you pat my head," it says, or, "Where have you been? Let's play now."

Shaped like a dog, it does more than just talk. It can also play music, including trot, a genre of older Korean pop music. It also can lead its owner in seated eye exercises and stretches, and give quizzes to keep residents' minds active, which can help slow the onset of dementia.

Most importantly, if there is a crisis, it can alert emergency services. 

During a demonstration, saying the words "help me" brought a call to Cho's phone from a monitoring center within a minute. If the staff at the monitoring center confirms that there is an actual emergency situation, emergency services is immediately notified. The system also connects to emergency services if the AI dog's sensors detect no movement for 48 hours.

Cho called the robot "an indispensable presence."

"I take diabetes, blood-pressure and cholesterol medicine every day, and before this little one I often forgot," she said. "Now I take them on time, and with it exercising me and keeping me company, I feel much healthier in body and mind."

The robot dogs were provided in September of last year to 100 of the Mokpo complex's residents who live by themselves by South Jeolla Province, which merged with Gwangju on Wednesday to form the Jeonnam-Gwangju Special Metropolitan City.

Officials surveyed recipients' health before and after three months of use. Of 33 who were previously flagged as at risk for depression, 32 had returned to normal.

Residents who had gone without anyone to talk to interacted with the robots about 54 times a day on average. Trot was the most-played music at 26.6 percent, followed by religious music at 15.3 percent and classical at 13.1 percent. In a survey of residents using the AI dogs, average satisfaction reached 82.3 points, and no one reported being dissatisfied.

Buoyed by the results, the regional government is now widening the program. Selected this year for a Ministry of Health and Welfare grant aimed at areas underserved by social services, it plans to give AI companion dogs to older people living alone on the region's islands.

"AI care robots are more than machines; they have become emotional companions and health care partners for older adults," said Jeong Gwang-seon, director-general of the region's health and welfare bureau. "We will keep expanding AI-based care to close the gaps where support does not reach."

BY HWANG HEE-GYU [[email protected]]