Synapse and Tombot: Boosting morale with robotic emotional support animals

Making robotic puppies accessible, safe, and affordable to all

Tombot is dedicated to creating products that help transform the lives of individuals, families, and communities who are facing serious health adversities – specifically, dementia.

The company’s first robotic dog prototype, “Jennie,” was costly and unreliable – not something that could be brought to consumers at scale. Tombot wanted to find a solution that was reliable, long lasting, cost effective, and affordable for consumers.

Tombot partnered with Synapse (part of Capgemini Invent) engineers to create “Alpha I Jennie” – a robotic dog named “Clifford” internally. Synapse engineers ensured that Clifford was functional for everyday use, capable of attaining necessary safety certificates, manufactured efficiently, and intelligent enough to mimic the movements and gestures of a real emotional support animal.

Tombot is now positioned to be the provider of the first robotic animals to be both FDA-approved medical devices and remote safety and health monitoring platforms.

“Any innovative hardware idea is going to carry a large amount of technology risk. Without a partnership with experts like Synapse, the likelihood of failure is much higher.”

Tom Stevens, CEO and Co-founder, Tombot