Panasonic unveils a family wellness coach powered by artificial intelligence at CES.

Family life in the United States has faced increasing challenges, leading U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy to issue a warning last year about the negative impact of stressors on parents' mental health and well-being. In light of this situation, Panasonic has introduced Umi, a digital family wellness coach, during CES in Las Vegas. Panasonic Well CEO Yoky Matsuoka explained that Umi aims to improve family health through an innovative set of coaching services.

This artificial intelligence assistant is designed to help parents who want to make positive changes, such as improving their sleep habits, maintaining a healthier diet, or spending more time together as a family, but struggle to find and implement effective solutions. Umi, which is expected to launch later this year, will not only provide suggestions based on the user's circumstances, but also referrals to brand partners, including apps like Calm for meditation and coaching platforms like YourCoach.

Additionally, Umi has the capability to help users set "achievable" goals and develop a daily plan with metrics to track their progress. For example, a parent who wants to reduce fast food for their picky eater could ask Umi for help and receive a plan to introduce new foods on a monthly basis.

This system is designed not just for parents, but also for intergenerational use, which is relevant given that many parents also care for their elderly parents. Umi can assist parents in coordinating schedules, finding specific health services, and managing burnout. Likewise, older parents can reach out to Umi to discuss their own needs. While Umi can help manage certain administrative tasks related to wellness, it is not designed to provide medical advice. When necessary, the platform may limit some functions and provide appropriate medical or crisis resources, such as guiding a parent to seek immediate help if their child experiences a mental health crisis.

Umi incorporates safety checks, including the identification of violent language. Unlike a digital personal assistant, Panasonic has another product called Yohana that can perform tasks like ordering Halloween costumes or hiring moving services. Matsuoka expresses her desire for parents to feel less overwhelmed, choosing the name "Umi," which means "sea" in Japanese, evoking feelings of calmness and centeredness.

To provide quality service, Umi uses multiple language models, highlighting Panasonic's collaboration with the company Anthropic, whose focus on ethical artificial intelligence has been valued by Matsuoka. While Umi collects valuable data from families about their interests and habits, Matsuoka assures that this information will not be sold to third parties and that the data is generated artificially without using users' personal information.

Umi is expected to be available to the public by mid-2025 through an app, and likely also in desktop format. The price has not yet been defined, but the CEO has indicated that an "affordable" cost will be set for a broad range of families, as well-being is a challenge faced by society as a whole, not just those with financial resources.