Giraff - a mobile solution for the home

Giraff is a mobile communication solution which facilitates the elderly’s contact with the outside world. It is remote-controlled, on wheels and has a camera and monitor. Giraff Technologies, the company behind the product, became Robotdalen’s first international start-up when they relocated from Silicon Valley in the U.S. to Västerås. The company is now well established with customers in seven European countries, it has won a prestigious innovation award, and participates in exciting research projects under the guidance of Örebro University.

Giraff enables healthcare professionals and family members to quickly and easily make contact with a patient or family member, regardless of distance. It is a 1.5-metre high motorized, two-way video call robot that works similar to Skype. It’s on wheels and can be controlled remotely via an ordinary PC. Disabled and elderly people can use it to communicate both with home assistance services and family and friends. The concept of using Giraff provides home assistance services with the means to make more frequent visits. One strong motivation is that they can save money and at the same time make home assistance service more efficient. For care recipients, this means a higher quality of life with the opportunity to stay in their own homes longer and under secure conditions.

So far, 42 Giraff’s have been delivered to seven different European countries and recently 20 more Giraff’s were completed. Each production run includes production improvements, based on the results of rigorous testing and feedback from end users. The product has been tested and evaluated in the Swedish home assistant services. Since Giraff Technologies moved to Sweden in 2009, e.g. home care services in Västerås City has served as a test bed in real-life environment for the product.

In 2011 Giraff was awarded the AAL Forum Award by the EU program Ambient Assisted Living Joint Programme (AAL). The jury considered Giraff the most promising product in the field, in terms of innovation level, improved quality of life for the elderly and its market potential. Giraff received the award through its participation in the research project Excite, led by Örebro University, which aims to give older people better quality of life through modern technology. The project delivers positive results and generates valuable research on how seniors and their caregivers interact with this type of technology. The relationship with AAL continues, and Giraff was one of the featured innovative products at the 2012 edition of the AAL Forum in Holland. Giraff is involved in another research project as well; GiraffPlus, where the conditions for how it can become part of a larger system for home care are examined. The idea is that the level of care will be increased as needs grow over time. The first pilot installation for GiraffPlus is under preparation and is planned to begin in Örebro in early 2013.

Robotdalen continues to promote the development of the Giraff, now with the main focus on creating global contacts, both with potential customers and strategic partners. Giraff Technologies currently has four full-time employees, and the next step is to build a sales organization.