Questions
Questions about Sophie
Privacy, the camera, who she’s for, and what it takes to set her up. Plain answers, including the things she doesn’t do.
Who is Sophie for
Who is Sophie for?
Older people who would like company and a gentle routine — in a care home, in supported housing, or living at home. She suits someone who is happy to talk, and doesn’t need them to learn an app, a screen or a menu: they say “Sophie” or tap her face.
Who buys and runs it?
Usually a care home or care provider, who adds residents and staff in the Care Console. A family can also register for a parent or relative, or someone can register for themselves — the pilot is open to all three.
Does Sophie replace care staff?
No. Sophie takes the repeating bits — the prompt at eight, “what’s on today?”, company at three in the morning — and writes down what happened. Judgement and care stay with people.
Is Sophie an emergency alarm or fall detector?
No. If a resident asks for help, Sophie raises an alert with their exact words in the Care Console, where staff see it. She can’t see, so she can’t spot a fall, and she isn’t a replacement for a nurse-call system or a personal alarm. Keep those.
Does she give medical advice?
No. Every reply is checked before it’s spoken, and medical advice is one of the things that gets replaced with an honest line. Her “Worth a look” list is plain counting over what’s recorded, not a diagnosis.
The camera and the microphone
Does Sophie have a camera?
Sophie herself has no sight: no photographs, no face recognition and no image understanding — the capability isn’t in the product. The robot and the iPad do have a camera, and the only thing that uses it is a video call with someone on the resident’s approved list, which the resident has answered or asked for. The picture goes to the person on the call. Sophie is never given a frame of it.
Can she see me?
No. Ask her what you’re wearing and she says she can’t see, every time. She’s tested against claiming otherwise.
Is she always listening?
Her name is recognised on the device itself. Nothing is sent anywhere until someone says “Sophie” or taps her face. There’s no open microphone streaming a room to anyone.
Can a resident switch her off?
On the iPad, one tap on the microphone button switches listening off until someone taps it again. While muted she still speaks reminders and messages, and calls still come through.
Do calls answer themselves?
No. A call only connects when the resident answers it or asks for it.
Privacy and data
What does Sophie keep?
The text of what the resident says to her and her replies, reminder times, whether they said they’d taken their tablets, a one-word mood, and any help requests. It’s kept in the resident’s record for the care staff responsible for them, and used to look after that resident and nothing else.
Who can see the conversations?
The care staff responsible for that resident, in the Care Console. Families using the Sophie Family app don’t see conversations, alerts or medical records — only what the care home chooses to share.
Is resident data used to train AI, sold or used for adverts?
No, no and no. There’s no advertising and no big-tech assistant account.
Where is the speech processed?
Speech is turned into text on Sophie’s own server, not handed to a voice-assistant platform (on iPads that support it, it happens on the iPad itself). Free conversation uses a hosted language model, which a customer can point at their own provider.
Who can call a resident?
Only people on that resident’s approved list. A named person at the care home approves each one, and every approval, edit and withdrawal is recorded with who did it. Carers can read the list; changing it takes a manager. The device in the room is never told a phone number or an email address.
Where can I read the full privacy policy?
On the privacy page, written to be read rather than skimmed past.
Setting up
What does it need?
Wi-Fi and a plug. No installation in the room, no wiring, and nothing for the resident to learn.
Robot or iPad?
Either. The robot is a small desk unit that we set up and bring. The iPad runs the free Sophie app, and the care home sets it up from the console with a one-time code in a couple of minutes. It’s the same Sophie on both.
What happens if a device breaks?
Nothing about a resident is kept only on the device. A replacement is given to the same resident in the console and greets them by name straight away.
Can I try her before getting in touch?
Yes — meet Sophie in your browser. It’s the real Sophie with an invented resident, so nothing you do reaches a real care home.
How much does it cost?
Prices aren’t published yet. We’re running a small, early pilot with very few places — register interest and we’ll talk it through.
Who makes Sophie?
Burf Robotics Ltd, a small UK robotics company (company number 16726691). Sophie is her own system and doesn’t need any other Burf product.
Not answered here? Ask us with the contact form, or see how Sophie works.
We’re starting a small, early pilot — Sophie with one or two people, very few places. No prices are published yet; ask and we’ll talk it through.
Register interestMeet Sophie in your browser