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“We’re not trying to replace humans,” stresses Christian Mackin / photo: Massage Robotics
Brothers Christian and Sean Mackin are taking touchless therapy a step further by creating one of the first life-sized massage robots.
They are co-founders of tech start-up Massage Robotics and have launched an AI-powered robot, named Alex, which is attached to a motorised bed and has two arms with interchangeable attachments to deliver a range of therapeutic techniques, such as kneading, rolling, vibrations, heat or electric pulses.
Users can select pre-existing massage routines from an app, create their own or verbally communicate with Alex to adjust its motion path or pressure in real time.
“The robot remembers client preferences so it can deliver a perfect massage every time,” explains Christian, co-founder and CEO, who owns a product design and engineering firm.
The inspiration for Massage Robotics came to him in 2013 following a severe off-road accident which left him with a broken back and neck. He says: “During physical therapy and rehabilitation, I imagined a robot that could both help me (and others) feel better as well as relieve therapists from their repetitive work.”
The Mackins believe robots will solve many problems facing the massage therapy industry; labour shortages, issues with body privacy, lingering nerves about close contact and COVID-19, as well as affordability and time management.
“We will only offer a Robot-as-a-Service (RaaS) monthly subscription for B2B wellness clinics,” says Christian, as the cost of the device is not practical for most operators. He anticipates the RaaS will be equal to a therapist’s monthly salary and that “pricing will be competitive to make a strong business case in markets across the world”.
He explains: “While a typical person may work around 2,000 hours per year, a robot is potentially capable of working 8,000 hours, so can be significantly more productive.”
That said, Christian is keen to emphasise that Massage Robotics isn’t trying to replace the vital role of human touch in spas. “I know introducing a robot into a 5,000-year-old, human-centric therapy is disruptive but we’re not trying to make a robotic hand that exactly replicates a human hand.
“We’re designing a robot that can approximate some therapeutic modalities and using biomimicry to apply those therapies. Using video recordings, we capture the human motions and then design algorithms that recreate them through the robot.
“It’s a unique experience to be touched by a massage robot. You have to feel it to understand it. The robot moves like a human and talks like a human, but Alex has superhuman memory.”
Read more from this issue of Spa Business magazine
Spa People: Marc Cohen
Leading medical, research, science and educational activities are all part of the new medical director’s role at the Peninsula Hot Springs Group in Australia
Menu engineering: At your service
Get inspired by the latest wellness services including a high-tech diagnostic circuit at SHA and a Zita West fertility programme at Bürgenstock
Interview: Stephan Wagner
As Saudi Arabia taps into tourism, the man heading up wellness at Amaala talks to Spa Business about what the major development is looking to bring to a previously undiscovered part of the Kingdom
Interview: Aradhana Khowala
The chair of the advisory board of the Red Sea – a Saudi development the size of Belgium – shares her passion for regenerative tourism with Spa Business
Sponsored: RKF: Dressed to impress
Following exciting new launches at Equip Hotel in Paris, including the new DresSoft line, RKF Luxury Linen is gearing up for an eco-friendly and fashion-conscious 2023
Everyone’s talking about...: Cold water immersion
A new scientific paper warns of the significant risk of cold water therapies. Spa Business investigates how operators can protect those taking part in extreme bathing programmes
Event report: Healing summit
Self-help and self-love were the key messages from this wellness event in Portugal, says Spa Business’ Lisa Starr
Sponsored: Comfort Zone: Effective by nature
Comfort Zone has revealed three new
products, including a new neck and
décolleté fluid, leveraging the power of
botanical bioactive extracts
Interview: Alex & Sue Glasscock
Editor-at-large, Jane Kitchen is put through her paces at The Ranch's new outpost in Palazzo Fiuggi, Italy and catches up with the owners
Event Report: Global Wellness Summit
The 16th annual GWS, held in Tel Aviv, Israel, homed in on the sector’s biggest issues following the pandemic. Spa Business reports on the highlights
Research: Wellness for all
A new study by the Global Wellness Institute provides a framework for businesses and governments to make healthy lifestyles accessible to all
Sponsored: TechnoAlpin Snowroom
The TechnoAlpin Snowroom made our Grand Aufguss Masters event extra special, says Robert Heinevetter
Finishing Touch: Cold call
Tumor suppression and boosting ‘good fat’ are two potential benefits of exposure to cool temperatures and swimming in icy waters, scientists reveal
Contrast therapy, based on the alternation of hot and cold rituals, has become one of the
most valued practices in the fields of wellness and recovery. [more...]
“We’re not trying to replace humans,” stresses Christian Mackin / photo: Massage Robotics
Brothers Christian and Sean Mackin are taking touchless therapy a step further by creating one of the first life-sized massage robots.
They are co-founders of tech start-up Massage Robotics and have launched an AI-powered robot, named Alex, which is attached to a motorised bed and has two arms with interchangeable attachments to deliver a range of therapeutic techniques, such as kneading, rolling, vibrations, heat or electric pulses.
Users can select pre-existing massage routines from an app, create their own or verbally communicate with Alex to adjust its motion path or pressure in real time.
“The robot remembers client preferences so it can deliver a perfect massage every time,” explains Christian, co-founder and CEO, who owns a product design and engineering firm.
The inspiration for Massage Robotics came to him in 2013 following a severe off-road accident which left him with a broken back and neck. He says: “During physical therapy and rehabilitation, I imagined a robot that could both help me (and others) feel better as well as relieve therapists from their repetitive work.”
The Mackins believe robots will solve many problems facing the massage therapy industry; labour shortages, issues with body privacy, lingering nerves about close contact and COVID-19, as well as affordability and time management.
“We will only offer a Robot-as-a-Service (RaaS) monthly subscription for B2B wellness clinics,” says Christian, as the cost of the device is not practical for most operators. He anticipates the RaaS will be equal to a therapist’s monthly salary and that “pricing will be competitive to make a strong business case in markets across the world”.
He explains: “While a typical person may work around 2,000 hours per year, a robot is potentially capable of working 8,000 hours, so can be significantly more productive.”
That said, Christian is keen to emphasise that Massage Robotics isn’t trying to replace the vital role of human touch in spas. “I know introducing a robot into a 5,000-year-old, human-centric therapy is disruptive but we’re not trying to make a robotic hand that exactly replicates a human hand.
“We’re designing a robot that can approximate some therapeutic modalities and using biomimicry to apply those therapies. Using video recordings, we capture the human motions and then design algorithms that recreate them through the robot.
“It’s a unique experience to be touched by a massage robot. You have to feel it to understand it. The robot moves like a human and talks like a human, but Alex has superhuman memory.”
Read more from this issue of Spa Business magazine
Spa People: Marc Cohen
Leading medical, research, science and educational activities are all part of the new medical director’s role at the Peninsula Hot Springs Group in Australia
Menu engineering: At your service
Get inspired by the latest wellness services including a high-tech diagnostic circuit at SHA and a Zita West fertility programme at Bürgenstock
Interview: Stephan Wagner
As Saudi Arabia taps into tourism, the man heading up wellness at Amaala talks to Spa Business about what the major development is looking to bring to a previously undiscovered part of the Kingdom
Interview: Aradhana Khowala
The chair of the advisory board of the Red Sea – a Saudi development the size of Belgium – shares her passion for regenerative tourism with Spa Business
Sponsored: RKF: Dressed to impress
Following exciting new launches at Equip Hotel in Paris, including the new DresSoft line, RKF Luxury Linen is gearing up for an eco-friendly and fashion-conscious 2023
Everyone’s talking about...: Cold water immersion
A new scientific paper warns of the significant risk of cold water therapies. Spa Business investigates how operators can protect those taking part in extreme bathing programmes
Event report: Healing summit
Self-help and self-love were the key messages from this wellness event in Portugal, says Spa Business’ Lisa Starr
Sponsored: Comfort Zone: Effective by nature
Comfort Zone has revealed three new
products, including a new neck and
décolleté fluid, leveraging the power of
botanical bioactive extracts
Interview: Alex & Sue Glasscock
Editor-at-large, Jane Kitchen is put through her paces at The Ranch's new outpost in Palazzo Fiuggi, Italy and catches up with the owners
Event Report: Global Wellness Summit
The 16th annual GWS, held in Tel Aviv, Israel, homed in on the sector’s biggest issues following the pandemic. Spa Business reports on the highlights
Research: Wellness for all
A new study by the Global Wellness Institute provides a framework for businesses and governments to make healthy lifestyles accessible to all
Sponsored: TechnoAlpin Snowroom
The TechnoAlpin Snowroom made our Grand Aufguss Masters event extra special, says Robert Heinevetter
Finishing Touch: Cold call
Tumor suppression and boosting ‘good fat’ are two potential benefits of exposure to cool temperatures and swimming in icy waters, scientists reveal
The Wellness Tourism Association (WTA) has published a non-regulatory global industry
framework designed to ensure the retreat market offers responsible experiences.
A new survey of UK and international spa practitioners shows that stress, burnout and
wellbeing concerns have caused one in three respondents to consider leaving the industry.
The UK's four Chief Medical Officers have published a refreshed edition of Physical activity
guidelines: UK Chief Medical Officers' report, updating the evidence that underpins the nation's
physical activity recommendations and placing greater emphasis on strength, balance, reducing
sedentary behaviour and, for the first time, supporting people taking weight loss medications.
Anna Bjurstam has left her role as Wellness Pioneer at Six Senses Hotels and Resorts and
launched a new wellness, longevity and “consciousness consultancy” called Wahayla.
Fairmont Cheshire, The Mere, has opened today (10 July) in the Northwest of England
with a
1,715sq m Fairmont Spa that has been designed using a ‘Wellness without Walls’
concept.
Wellness hotels generating less than US$1 million (€932,700, £785,200) – or 10 per cent of
total revenue from wellness and leisure – recorded the strongest RevPAR and TRevPAR growth
in 2025 across categories when compared with 2024, according to the latest Wellness Real
Estate Report by RLA Global, produced in partnership with P and L benchmarking firm HotStats.
Lefay Resorts, the portfolio of two luxury wellness properties in Italy, has added emotional
dance classes and group cold plunge sessions in response to market demand for social
connection.
Contrast therapy, based on the alternation of hot and cold rituals, has become one of the
most valued practices in the fields of wellness and recovery. [more...]
