Meet Grace, the humanoid robot offering companionship in a Montreal nursing home

Lovely, intelligent and well-dressed.

That's how 82-year-old Frances Greenberg describes Grace, the newest member at her long-term care home in Montreal's Notre-Dame-De-Grâce neighbourhood.

Grace is a rosy-cheeked, young-looking woman with a layered bob haircut. Oh, and she's also a robot. 

Designed by the GeriPARTy Laboratory team, Grace will be visiting Résidence Pearl & Theo twice a week for the next eight weeks as part of a study led by Montreal's Jewish General Hospital.

Her goal during each 30-minute session will be to keep seniors living in nursing homes company and help break social isolation.

"It's lovely to have something like this here," said Greenberg, who is among three seniors taking part in the study. 

"Unfortunately I don't have any grandchildren, so it's a first experience."

Grace is designed to listen when people speak, then generate a response. She can also tell jokes, do reading exercises and speak about topics that seniors might be interested in. 

To make interactions with the robot more realistic, the GeriPARTy team programmed movement into not only the eyes, but also the neck and hands. 

Theodora Montoure, co-owner of Résidence Pearl & Theo, says she's excited to have Grace in her halls. The humanoid robot will be able to prioritize residents' social needs and fill in where staff cannot, she says. 

"We, as caregivers, are busy. Our residents are not busy all day long," she said. 

"The entire industry is so understaffed … we do not have time to chit-chat and play with the residents throughout the day, but the robot can."

Montoure says Grace will also be accessible to all residents. "They are all on different levels — mentally or they are aging differently — and they'll find that the robot will be able to interact with them on their level," she said. 

Dr. Paola Lavin, a research associate at the Lady Davis Institute at the Jewish General Hospital, who is leading the project, says it is intended to help decrease loneliness and improve the mental health of isolated older adults — issues that have been highlighted throughout the course of the COVID-19 pandemic.