Sign up for TPR Today, Texas Public Radio's newsletter that brings our top stories to your inbox each morning.
There are some people who are just plain uncomfortable when it comes to getting a massage. A feeling of vulnerability, insecurity or anxiety that comes from close human touch can cancel out the relaxation a massage is supposed to bring.
But now there’s another option.
Steve Hickey wears a black bodysuit and lies face down while looking at a small computer screen. Soothing music plays and machines whir softly. Above him, two robotic arms are at work, giving him a massage. Hickey is a retired massage therapist and he’s trying Aescape, an AI- powered robot massager, for the first time.
“It was scary how good it was and how the flow was almost humanlike,” he said after the massage session.
“I was comparing it to like a hot stone massage, because, I mean, you don't have the softness of the hands, but it's the warmth of the robotics. It almost feels like hot stones.”
Hickey has tried massage chairs in the past.
“I came in skeptical that ... there's these $10,000 to $20,000 massage chairs, and they just squeeze and kind of jab and roll, and this one would lighten up on the spots ... you knew it needed to lighten up on. And then it came into the trigger points really good and then kind of hung out there for a second and then moved on. And it was, it was just, it was really good.”
Jeremy Jacob is the owner of Float Wellness Spa, a boutique spa that was the first in San Antonio to offer the Aescape AI massager.
“Aescape was in development for, I believe, seven years,” he said. “They spent something like $70 million developing it, and the goal was to create a piece of equipment that was as close as possible to a real massage.”
He said several of his customers have tried the machine.
“My experience so far has been (that) people are really excited to try something new and unique, or they're kind of terrified by it because they're worried that the robot is going to be too strong and it's going to crush them or something like that," Hickey said. "The cool thing is the arms have a very specific limitation on how much pressure they can provide, so it's not possible for it to hurt anyone and it avoids sensitive areas like the neck and ankles.”
Signing up for this AI robotic massage is like booking a regular massage, with a few differences.
“When you show up, it's gonna do a body scan, so it's got four cameras. They're gonna create a 360-degree view, and it's gonna understand exactly where your body position is, and it's really interesting because you can see that it understands where the muscles are. And then there's pressure sensors in the arms and on the table, so it knows if you move, it'll pause for a second. So ... they say it's AI-powered and what that means is it's responsive. It's not just doing a set program."
Before getting the automated massage, customers are fitted into a suit that looks similar to yoga clothes. The attire is form-fitting, fits tightly on the skin, and allows the machine to do its work without having to apply any lotion on the client.
Jacob says he doesn’t expect robotic massage to replace human massage therapists.
If, for instance, you have a large knot in your shoulder or back muscle, or issues with your neck, the robotic massage might not be the remedy.
“No, it's not really great at that,” said Jacob.
“And that's where we have a team of licensed massage therapists here and (their work) can't be replicated. So that's what ... I was just talking to Steve about. When you have a specific need or an area in the neck or shoulder that you need ... special work on, that's where you want to seek a licensed massage therapist.”
For potential customers who want the benefit of massage therapy, but just aren’t comfortable getting one, the Aescape robotic massager could be an option.
And getting the robotic massage is actually less expensive than a human massage therapist. A sixty-minute session is $80 and a half-hour is $45.
The cost to purchase the machine can be prohibitive.
Float Wellness Spa leases the massager from Aescape and plans to add another soon. Aescape massagers are now in over 100 locations across the U.S.
Disclosure: Float Wellness Spa is a TPR business member. We cover them like we would any other company.
