Blue Frog Robotics

Paris, France

Founded 2014

About Blue Frog Robotics

Blue Frog Robotics is a Paris-based company founded in 2014 by Rodolphe Hasselvander, former executive director of the CRIIF robotics lab, and Franck de Visme, creating social robots that embody Emotional AI to address major societal challenges in education, elderly care, and inclusion of vulnerable people. Their flagship product Buddy is the worlds first intelligent and true emotional robot, a 60-centimeter companion with 4 degrees of freedom that deploys multiple capabilities for social interaction including an appealing anthropomorphic face displaying emotional reactions and proactive behavior to engage users. Buddy is equipped with temperature sensors, obstacle detectors, ground detectors, range finding sensors, camera, microphones, HDMI output, WiFi, and Bluetooth connectivity. Built on an open Android SDK platform, Buddy assists with daily life tasks, provides telepresence for connecting with others, engages children in educational activities, monitors the home, and helps with elderly care. Frances Ministry of National Education purchased 1,750 Buddy robots to help homebound or hospitalized children remotely interact with their classroom peers, demonstrating significant institutional adoption. The company raised $468,000 through an Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign and won a CES Best of Innovation award. Blue Frog Robotics positions itself as a Tech for Good company, creating Robots for Good that drive positive social impact on education, inclusion, and aging populations.