The 5,000-year-old therapy just got an upgrade: With a fully automated, AI-powered heated robotic arm, Aescape’s massager offers a personalized, customizable experience without the need to get naked and oil up.
Therapeutic massage has been used since about 3000 BCE. Hindus used massage in their Ayurvedic, or “health of life” medical practice, as a way to heal injuries, relieve pain, and prevent and cure disease by restoring the body’s natural balance and physical equilibrium.
Wellness-focused robotics company Aescape has teamed up with design firm Whipsaw to bring a 5,000-year-old massage salon into the 21st century, introducing you to the world’s most advanced massages with AI-powered robots.
At Whipsaw, our goal is not just to design beautiful products, but to create a deeper connection between humans and machines, so we set out to enhance, not reinvent, a thousands-year-old (and effective) healing tradition.
Aescape’s mission is to empower people to live happier, healthier lives, and to achieve this it was essential that their robotic massager, seven years in the making, be centered around the user. After much trial and error, Whipsaw and Aescape finally landed on a solution that would relieve stiffness.
Infrared sensors scan the user’s body and then use heated air points to massage them.
escape
Before the massage begins, the Aescape massage platform uses built-in infrared sensors to scan your body and leverages AI to provide a personalized experience. The machine learning algorithms used by the massager allow it to learn as it massages, collecting data from every body massaged to provide a more intelligent session.
In addition to the platform’s softer components – the headrest, armrests and bolsters – are airpoints, firmer heated massage contact points that mimic the palms of the hands, forearms and elbows. A digital control interface under the headrest, visible when the user is lying face down, gives real-time information on where the airpoints are located and which parts of the body they will target next. You can also adjust the pressure and play soothing music using the interface. The massager also has a safety stop button for peace of mind.
Some people don’t like getting massaged. The idea of lying down next to a stranger with oily hands, lightly clad or completely naked, can be unbearable. That’s why Aescape’s robotic massage is perfect: it doesn’t require you to be naked. Users wear custom-made clothing called Aerwear, which allows the robotic arms to deliver a frictionless massage without oil.
A digital interface allows the user to select music and control the massage pressure (the red button is a safety shut-off).
escape
Reviews for this next-generation massage technology have been positive.
“The robot massaged my upper back, shoulders, spine, hips, and buttocks,” ZDNet associate editor Nina Raymont wrote in a March 2024 article. “I enjoyed being able to customize the pressure levels, and it made me feel like I was in control of the massage, which isn’t always the case when you’re seeing a human masseuse. There were moments when I felt like the pressure in the arms was too strong, but I quickly toned it down and remembered I could get the massage on my terms and preferences.”
Raymont said the robot’s drawback is that it doesn’t work well at releasing stiff muscles. Brenda Storrier of Wired magazine had a similarly positive experience with the Aescape robotic massager, and was pleased with how well it released stiff muscles.
Aescape 7th Anniversary: Discover the Future of Massage
“I was surprised at how closely it replicated the sensation of a traditional massage,” she says. “That may be because the company worked with massage therapists to train the system. During the massage, the AirPoint quickly switched between a soft, flat surface and a sharp edge, depending on the area being massaged. I felt it take its time to massage away the tension in my upper shoulders before working its way down to my lower back.”
Design professionals were also pleased with the Aescape robotic massager, which won a Core77 Design Award this year in the Health and Wellness category.
Aescape plans to bring its robotic massage machines to hotels, spas, corporate executives and fitness centers, and you can currently book an Aescape robotic massage at two “early access” locations in New York City through the company’s website.
Source: Whipsaw