China’s adaptive robot maker Flexiv has developed a fully automatic massaging application for its Rizon 4 robot. Powered by artificial intelligence, computer vision, and force feedback, the robot can provide a massage equal to any human masseur.
Flexiv’s Rizon 4 robotic arm has seven degrees of freedom and a weight of 20 kg (44 lb). For massaging applications, it is equipped with a new soft silicone heated massage tool that can accurately emulate the deep-pressure glide stroke commonly used in Tui Na, or as it is more widely known, Chinese deep tissue massage. The robot can be instructed to either give an overall back massage or to target specific areas of the back.
Thanks to a world-class force sensitivity of 0.03 newtons, 3D computer vision integration, and a proprietary AI system, Flexiv’s masseur can automatically adjust itself, so it always provides an optimum massage experience. In addition, the robot can sense its environment via touch and sight.
According to the company, Flexiv’s massage application is not only absolutely safe, but it can provide customized massages to people of all shapes and sizes on an automatic basis. As the robotic masseur will never tire, become distracted, or suffer from an injury, all these massages will also always be of the highest quality, the company says. This guarantees consistency and eliminates the variability in skills often found between human masseurs.
“We believe that robotics will play an intrinsic part of everyday life in the future, democratizing access to services that are currently cost-prohibitive,” said Yunfan Gao, Flexiv’s Marketing Director. “I hope that one day our robotic masseur will be on hand in every clinic, spa, gym, and health club to provide a viable alternative to traditional massages.”
“We aim to make robotic massage mainstream and, in the process, reduce its cost while increasing its availability. People think nothing of buying food or drink from a vending machine, and we hope they will think the same way about purchasing a robotic massage,” he added.
