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If you pay a visit to The River Cafe in The Marshes Shopping Centre, you might notice a cute robot smiling up at you as you pick up your order. But there’s no need to be alarmed. The robots have not taken over. This friendly fellow goes by the name of Mylo.

He’s a support companion designed to help care for people who have recently had a stroke or have Alzheimers or Dementia, so they can retain independence and live at home for longer.

Candace LaFleur the creator of Mylo 

Personal home assistant Mylo is paired with a health sensor watch which is worn by the user which provides essential functions from health to companionship. For €9 a day, less than the cost of one hour of homecare, Mylo can help ease and alleviate the stresses and strains that family members or carers have when they are looking after a loved one with Alzheimer’s or Dementia at home.

A first to market, Mylo was created by social entrepreneur, Candace Lafleur, and the team at CR Robotics – a local robotics company based in Dundalk in Co. Louth.

Speaking to the Dundalk Democrat, Candace explained: “We love Dundalk!We didn’t want to go to Dublin, it’s too overcrowded. So we came here to a unit in An Tain Court on Bridge Street. Dundalk is very underrated.”

You can meet a tester Mylo at The River Cafe in the Marshes Shopping Centre 

Candace, who is originally from Alberta, Canada and has previously lived in China and London with her partner and their children, says she arrived in Ireland to do her Executive MBA in Trinity from 2015 to 2017 and eventually settled in Dundalk as it was the ideal spot to set up her new business venture.

Ms Lafleur explained: “People are very easy to work with here. They genuinely want to help. I don’t know if we’d get that same sense of community in Dublin.

“I set up the company just 18 months ago. I had a major stroke at 32 years old. I was the youngest person in that stroke ward by about forty years.

“I only suffered temporary limitations, but I was aware that for many people in the stroke ward, the limitations were more permanent.

“When I was in hospital and all of my treatments were finished, I felt imprisoned there because they still wouldn’t let me go home as I needed someone to monitor me. When I did get home I felt a massive guilt as my husband needed to monitor me 24/7.”

Candace continued: “When I was doing my MBA I started thinking about how I could help people in similar situations – when you have your independence ripped away from you. So we made a robot!”

Candace says her amazing invention has become her trusted sidekick who helps her with the after effects of : “I have some lasting effects now – I can’t drive, and I wear black mostly due to problems when I am eating. I have a hard time recognising people too.

“When I have a meeting in the office, he’ll help remind of people I’m meeting. I’m usually driving around with Mylo strapped into the back seat of my car. I can get some funny looks. Especially when his little head turns around!”

When creating Mylo the team at CR Robotics commissioned significant research with nursing homes, care homes, and in the homes of those living with Alzheimer’s and Dementia on their requirements.

Following their research, the company found “17 pain points for people who need this level of care” and so Mylo was developed with key functions including Remote Monitoring, Emergency Video Call Response, Heart Rate Emergency Response, The Guard and Video Communication.

“We have had no shortage of interest in the product so far. We have 300 ready to go in our warehouse in Monasterboice. There are currently 30 Mylo’s in community nursing homes, cafes and homes – 10 are in homes across Louth.”

If you would like to rent a Mylo, at a rate of €9 per day, please see www.facebook.com/heymylo/ www.heymylo.com or visit him at the River Cafe in the Marshes Shopping Centre. 

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