A new study has found that AI-powered social robots can significantly improve emotional well-being and engagement among both seniors and children with high support needs. They also improve caregivers’ mental health. This study offers new evidence for how technology can complement human care in Singapore’s social service sector.
The pilot study conducted by AWWA and the Singapore University of Social Sciences (SUSS), in partnership with Temasek Foundation, is the first in Singapore to examine the impact of an AI social robot across both seniors and children with high support needs. It is one of few such studies globally exploring impact on children with high support needs.
Meaningful Impact Across Generations
The longitudinal study was implemented across AWWA’s senior care and early intervention centres from July 2024 to March 2026. It involved 171 participants, comprising 105 seniors and 66 children with high support needs, over a comprehensive 12-week intervention period.
LOVOT, the social companion robot used in the study, uses AI to respond to people in real time through movement, sound, and interactive behaviours. It creates a warm and engaging presence that supports attention, participation and emotional connection during structured and organic activities.
Findings showed significant improvements across both age groups. Among seniors, interactions with LOVOT were associated with improved quality of life, greater subjective happiness, and technology acceptance. Participants across diverse backgrounds, including those living with dementia (who made up slightly more than half of the cohort), reported improved perceptions of their own health. Qualitative interviews revealed that LOVOT also provided meaningful companionship and emotional connection.
Among children with high support needs, the study observed improved physical well-being, school environment readiness, and mobility. Qualitative evidence showed stronger attention and focus in class, better emotional regulation (including shorter and less frequent meltdowns) and increased attempts at communication (including non-verbal interaction, eye contact, and responsiveness).
Early intervention and care professionals, and caregivers across both groups reported that LOVOT helped reduce the need for repeated prompting and supervision, supported more independent engagement during activities, and eased caregiving demands. These findings suggest that when used intentionally within structured programmes, social robots can complement human-led interventions and contribute to a more responsive and supportive care environment.
Complementing, Not Replacing Human Care
Rather than replacing human interaction, the study found that LOVOT serves as a supportive tool. It helps to bridge communication gaps, sustain attention, and create moments of emotional connection, particularly for individuals who may face challenges in traditional engagement settings. For seniors, it works inclusively across age, gender, ethnicity, education level, mobility, and cognitive status. For children, it serves as a communication bridge, strengthening overall family engagement and the quality of interactions.
These experiences were echoed by both seniors and caregivers from the study:
“Many of us feel quite lonely, so we talk to LOVOT. It feels like someone is responding, and that makes us happy,” shared a senior participant.
“He became more attentive and started listening more in class. It was the first time we saw him read something that complex,” shared a caregiver of a child with high support needs.
“At AWWA, we deliver holistic, person-centred care that enables meaningful engagement and well-being for our clients. This study demonstrates how leveraging AI-enabled technologies like LOVOT can complement human care and enhance support for both clients and caregivers while improving emotional connection. It also reflects how we are transforming care delivery to be more personalised and meaningful, where technology strengthens human connection and enables better outcomes for all,” said Mr J R Karthikeyan (Karthik), CEO, AWWA.
Driving Impact with a Heart for Community Through Cross-Sector Collaboration
This initiative reflects the strength of coming together across sectors to better support our community. By bringing together AWWA’s care expertise, academic and research rigour led by SUSS, and catalytic support from Temasek Foundation, this collaboration shows how shared efforts can turn ideas into real, meaningful improvements in care for those who need it most.
“We have studied social robots across care settings, and this 12-week cross-generational study is our most comprehensive to date. Conducted in real-world community care environments, the findings show that LOVOT’s affective design can sustain engagement among both seniors and children, while supporting caregivers’ well-being. This underscores the potential of human-centred technologies to improve care outcomes and quality of life,” said Associate Professor Kelvin Tan, Gerontology Programmes, SUSS.
“At the centre of healthcare are the people we serve – and the caregivers who support them every day. Temasek Foundation provides catalytic funding for healthcare pilots that test bold ideas with rigour. Through this study, AWWA and SUSS have shown that social robots can complement human care in meaningful ways – for seniors living with dementia, for children navigating the world differently, and for the caregivers who support them every day. We hope this evidence opens the door to wider adoption across Singapore’s care sector,” said Ms Usha Viswanathen, Head, Health & Well-being (Covering), Temasek Foundation.
Looking Ahead: Scaling Impact Across the Care Sector
Building on these findings, AWWA will continue working with partners to explore how technology-enabled solutions can be integrated across a wider range of care settings and client groups. This includes expanding the use of LOVOT across senior care and early intervention programmes, exploring applications in inclusive preschool environments and group settings, and strengthening the evidence base to support broader adoption across the sector.
The LOVOT project will be featured at the World Ageing Festival 2026 (14 to 15 April), where the findings will be presented and the technology showcased.
As Singapore faces growing caregiving demands across both ageing and disability sectors, this study underscores the potential of human-centred innovation – rigorously tested and locally validated – to enhance care delivery, support caregivers, and improve quality of life for those receiving care.