Aescape is a robotic massage system. It is intended for use in massage clinics, luxury resorts or high-end homes. It provides many types of body massage including deep tissue therapy. Users lay down, adjust the armrest-display element up or down for comfort, then adjust the headrest. The 4 cameras above then quickly scan the entire body to create a three dimensional software map of your body contours. On the display directly below your face you then select a massage program or you can customize the robotic arm movement depending on your individual massage goals. AI and machine learning then keep improving your massage over time. This is the world's first robotic massage table, and it feels tremendous. It is precise, firm, smooth, and quiet - and it never tires or sneezes on you! It combines the very best technology with the very best user centric design.

Innovation:

Everything is new and novel about Aescape. It is the first of its kind product, service and experience.

Problem:

There are only 320,000 massage therapists in the USA alone, but the demand for massage is much higher, especially since the pandemic when massage took off. There simply aren't enough massage therapists. Why? To be a massage therapist wrecks your body. It causes repetitive strain injury to the wrists, fingers, arms and back. It causes tendonitis, muscle spasms, nerve damage and many more ailments. As a result most massage therapists burnout and quit early, giving up after less than 6 months. Furthermore, many people are unhappy with the massage they receive. Common user feedback about massage therapists is: "it didn't feel good, they were too hard or too soft, they didn't listen, they were sick, they're inconsistent." Most people are also uncomfortable about being nude on a table under the hands of a stranger. The stage was set with a perfect storm of problems.

Enter Aescape.

It solves ALL of the above problems, and it advances massage state-of-the-art by leaps and bounds. Aescape delivers the ultimate massage - perfect in execution, exactly as you want it, for as long as you want it. It's private, safe, consistently repeatable, and it learns what your preferences are.

Benefit to users:

Massage is all about benefits to the user - mostly relaxation, pain relief, stress relief, and meditation. Aescape takes massage to the next level. It gives users complete control. You decide where the robots are applying pressure and how much pressure. You get a better massage, since it feels better and provides better therapeutic performance. You are in a private setting, without worry about what your massage therapist thinks, says or does.

The robot hands are highly evolved. They move dynamically (see video) and are multi-shaped to mimic a thumb, palm, back of hand or elbow.

Ergonomic benefits: Every body zone is adjustable to ensure an ideal fit for a wide percentile of users from very short to very tall. The headrest moves up/down, in/out, and is richly contoured for the ultimate fit (most massage table headrests are terrible). It has a breathing hole and eyesight hole so you can clearly see the display below.

The floating arm rest moves up and down by more than 6" to accommodate every body size. It is designed as a big round surface, with the display at its center, recessed 3 inches. This recess allows for proper eye focus distance. Your hand naturally drapes over the edge of this recess to tap on screen controls. Speakers and emergency off button are in this recess too, exactly where you can see and hear.

A leg bolster lifts shins for ideal comfort, and it moves up and down the table depending on one's height.

Benefit to Client/Brand:

Aescape is a new company, but it is already causing a sensation among critics, press and investors. In November 2022 Aescape announced its $30 million Series A funding round led by Valor Siren Ventures and Valor Equity Partners, an early investor in Tesla and SpaceX, with participation from new investors including Fifth Wall and Alley Robotics Ventures, and from existing investors including Crosslink Capital, Alumni Ventures, and NBA Champion and All-Star Kevin Love.

In every case, the complete design solution, coupled with its amazing integration of edge technology, is the reason for all the excitement.

Aescape was founded by Eric Litman, a highly accomplished serial entrepreneur and engineer. He smartly leveraged good design from the get-go, stating "We must make sure the machine is centered around the user experience. It must work better than a human, and be gorgeous too."

Benefit to Society:

Aescape presents huge benefits to society, culture and the environment.

Social - Individuals in a society benefit so much from massage, as documented by health professionals worldwide. It provides much needed relaxation, therapy and healing. A robotic massage table allows that benefit to be far more prolific and available since there are so few massage therapists in practice. It also saves the backs, arms and hands of therapists, plus all the healthcare needed to treat them.

Cultural - Aescape expands and celebrates the culture of massage, which dates way back in all ancient cultures. It doesn't replace jobs, it just fulfills demand with more supply in a different way. It will no doubt create its own new kind of massage culture. Furthemore, in some cultures body privacy is important and with Aescape you don't need to wait for a specific person to carry out the treatment (for example in Islamic law it's a sin to get a massage from the opposite gender).

Environmental - Aescape is much more efficient and sustainable than big groups of massage therapists that need lots of health care due to workplace injury. Using robotics also reduces the commuting environmental factors like vehicle pollution and energy usage. Materially speaking, primary surfaces are made from sustainable vegan faux leather. It is designed to last a lifetime. All parts are serviceable and accessed from lower panels.

Appropriate Aesthetics:

A massage is a very intimate experience, so the expectations about aesthetic excellence are extremely high. Additionally, since this is a robotic system, the machine's appearance needed to allay any fear or anxiety around its automation.

The first impression that the machine makes is extremely important. At a glance, Aescape was made to look friendly, soft, warm, and complete. As you approach, the bed and headrest are low, soft, sleek and quite inviting. It is covered in a wonderful tan or blue faux leather. The armrest/ display element at the head end hovers above the floor on a blanket of soft light. The robot arms are soft and friendly forms too. The robot hands are smooth and organic, like a real body part. One feels relaxed before even laying down.

The four camera / light assemblies above are beautifully detailed. Since most people are nervous about cameras looking at them, we put the camera lenses in the center of the light rings - so you can't even see them. The lights are necessary to make the imagery work, and to provide a soft glow in the immediate environment. This integration of light and camera kept these functions compact, simple and unobtrusive to the rest of the machine.

The robot arms move up and down along side tracks, which have a sliding cover so you never see inside the main unit. In short, every single aesthetic detail has been considered and optimized for quality and utmost acceptance of this new type of product.