A Bristol robotics company is equity crowdfunding to develop its virtual assistant for older people.

Service Robotics Ltd is aiming to raise £450,000 for its GenieConnect technology – which the company said allows older people to live independently through voice-activated medication reminders, health monitoring and video calls.

According to the company’s Crowdfunder page, there is an estimated “silver economy” of older people in the wider European Union worth €3.7tn, expected to rise to €5.7tn by 2025.

Service Robotics launched its first pilot project in Cornwall in August 2019 and has won its first contract through an SBRI/NHS initiative. Pilot projects for the technology have been agreed with three care and retirement companies.

Funding worth £225,000 has also been proposed for the project through a regional development fund.

A statement on the Crowdfunder page said: “GenieConnect is a game-changing service to help older adults live independently in their own homes, by offering voice-enabled face-to-face human support through a cute intelligent Genie robot.

“Our roadmap includes IoT integration to turn the home into a cocoon of health, wellness and companionship.”

The company was set up by chief executive Rob Parkes, who has a background in sales and marketing and has leadership experience in FTSE250 tech companies.

Tim Morgan is its chief operating officer. He has held senior roles with Orange and Huawei Technologies where he consulted on the introduction of new products and services.

Robotics entrepreneur Dominic Keen is a director, and 30-year tech veteran Tom Gray is non-executive director.