HugVisit
HugVisit brings a resident's real family stories, voices and photos to the room TV, in short scheduled family visits — and keeps the stories they still tell, in a book for the family.
The AI always says it is an AI. It never pretends to be a family member, and it only talks about facts the family has verified.
Concept for a research proposal to the University of South Florida (USF) — pending.
How HugVisit works
HugVisit brings a resident's real family stories, voices and photos to the room TV, in short scheduled family visits and an optional companion mode set by the facility or caregiver. It is a research-stage concept being studied with university partners.
HugVisit in action
Lucas recorded once, and his family keeps sending happy clips. Over two years, HugVisit brings him back in new places and new clothes — the same face, the same voice, a new chapter of the family's story.
AI-generated demo videos with fictional people and AI voices. In HugVisit, every video of a real loved one needs their consent.
Chapter 1. Lucas: Hey Grandma! It's me, Lucas. Look what I've got… my diploma! I just graduated, and I'm still in my cap and gown. You helped me with my homework at the kitchen table, every single day. So this one's yours too. I love you, Grandma. I'll come see you real soon.
Chapter 2. Lucas: Grandma, hi! It's Lucas. So much has happened! Last year I got married. It was a beautiful day, and we danced to your favorite song. And now… look who's here. This is Clara, your great-granddaughter. She was born last week. Look at her tiny hands, Grandma. She's perfect. We love you so much.
Chapter 3. Lucas: Grandma! Look who's here with me! Clara's two now, and she laughs all day long. — Clara: Hi Grandma! I love you! — Lucas: And this little white fluffball is Bolt, our new puppy. He never stops playing! — Clara: Bolt! Come here, Bolt! Good boy! — Lucas: Clara picked a flower just for you. She loves flowers, just like you do. — Clara: This flower is for you, Grandma! Bye-bye! Kisses!
How the family takes part
No app, no password: they answer from the phone they already use.
EmailText messageWhatsAppPhone call
The product
Seven screens on the devices where they will be used: the family's phone, the caregiver's tablet, Rose's TV and the care team's desktop. The photos are AI-generated; the screens are our concept designs.
Family · phone
A grandchild, daughter or son records five minutes, once — guided, just talking. They decide what their AI version may do, and can pause or delete it anytime.
Caregiver · tablet
The caregiver taps how the person is right now. The app checks the body first, then suggests who visits, the scene, the tone, the language — and gentle answers for hard moments.
Loved one · TV
No buttons on their screen. A clear label that the visit is a video made with AI. A soft goodbye with a promise to return, then their favorite song. If the internet fails: family photos — never an error message.
Caregiver · tablet
The concept screen shows irritation, sadness and engagement from words, voice, pace, silences and face. The caregiver can switch to a family clip, such as a real clip of Lucas's puppy.
Caregiver · tablet
Four cards of bars — Heart, Conversation, Mind & reality, Beliefs & people. Each bar goes between two opposites, inside a safe range for Rose. Bars with a padlock start locked; the caregiver can open them.
Care team · desktop
The concept screen shows example numbers for the visit, what the caregiver confirmed, and a request to the family. The numbers are examples, not results.
Nurse · desktop
Safety first: if the resident mentions pain, a fall, wanting to die, or stays distressed, the session pauses and alerts the nurse. HugVisit never diagnoses; staff always assess.
The most important screen
Before each visit, the caregiver sets how the AI version of the loved one will behave today: seven controls, in the order the caregiver uses them.
Heartwarmth and tone
Conversationpace and talk
Mind & realityher story, not a correction
Beliefs & peopletopics and people
Every screen, explained
00 · Overview
One board with the whole system: the six steps of a visit, who must say yes and when, how the safety net works, and the decisions still open for the research team and the ethics board.
01 · Family · phone
Opened from the link the family receives. It guides the recording — say hi, tell your news, tell a funny memory, say goodbye — and asks what "AI Lucas" may do.
01b · Family · phone
After each visit, a short update, the list of visits, and a button to schedule a real call.
02 · Caregiver · tablet
The caregiver taps how Rose is right now (anxious, sad, confused, agitated, sleepy, happy). The app checks the body first — pain, bathroom, water or snack, glasses, hearing aid — then sets who visits, today's scene, the language, the answers for hard moments and a gentle goodbye.
03 · Loved one · TV
What Rose sees: her grandson, one big caption, and the label "Video message from Lucas · made with AI". There are no buttons or menus on her screen.
03b · Loved one · TV
When she is sad: a real family clip. At the end: a goodbye with a promise to come back, then her favorite song. If the internet fails: family photos, never an error message.
04 · Caregiver · tablet
Three live readings — irritation, sadness, engagement — from her words, voice, pace, silences and face. When sadness rose after she asked for John, the AI switched to Lucas's real clip of his puppy. The caregiver can keep going, try something else, or take over.
05 · Care team · desktop
The concept screen shows example numbers for the visit, what the caregiver confirmed, and a request to the family. The numbers are examples, not results.
06 · Nurse · desktop
Safety first: if the resident mentions pain, a fall, wanting to die, or stays distressed, the session pauses and alerts the nurse. HugVisit never diagnoses; staff always assess.
09 · I Need To Call My Mother
The life story recorded with I Need To Call My Mother becomes the AI's memory bank, with the family's signature. Her own recorded voice becomes her first comfort.
AI-generated image · fictional peopleNew · The Continuation Book
The first book, recorded with I Need To Call My Mother, holds the life they told while they remembered. With HugVisit, the family can keep going: the stories they still tell become a second book — The Continuation — to stay with the family forever.
The first book from I Need To Call My Mother already knows the main people in their story. That knowledge sets the persona of each loved one — the way they talk, the nicknames, the memories they share.
With their own yes and the family's consent, the visit keeps the stories they tell — the farm, the wedding, the lasagna. The family can stop saving stories or delete any of them at any time.
Stories told to nurses and caregivers at the hospital or nursing home can be added only with the person's own yes, the family's written consent, the staff member's agreement and the facility's permission. Never medical details, and nothing about other residents or staff. Nothing is ever recorded without notice.
A story told many times is treasured, not corrected. The book keeps it once, as they told it, and the family decides what to include.
The safety net · Ethics and consent
HugVisit never pretends to be a family member, never diagnoses, and never decides alone.
Safety first: if the resident mentions pain, a fall, wanting to die, or stays distressed, the session pauses and alerts the nurse. HugVisit never diagnoses; staff always assess.
It does not replace nurses, doctors or 911.
Concept only. It does not replace nurses, doctors or 911.
Designed with privacy in mind. By design, their stories are not used to train AI models.
Built on I Need To Call My Mother — the life story recorded there becomes the memory of every visit.
Visit I Need To Call My MotherResearch
Concept being prepared for a research proposal to the University of South Florida (USF) — pending.
Not yet. It is a concept being prepared for a research pilot.
No. It is a video made with AI from one recording that the family member chose to share. If someone asks, the answer is always honest.
The family member sets what is allowed. The caregiver chooses the visit. Hard topics are agreed in advance.
Safety first: if the resident mentions pain, a fall, wanting to die, or stays distressed, the session pauses and alerts the nurse. HugVisit never diagnoses; staff always assess. It does not replace nurses, doctors or 911.
A second book with the stories they still tell, approved by the family page by page and printed through I Need To Call My Mother.
No, but it helps: it gives the visits real memories and sets each loved one's persona.
No. It is for mothers, fathers, grandparents — anyone living with Alzheimer's — and for every loved one who visits.
The family can pause or delete them anytime. By design, they are not used to train AI models.
Interest list
Tell us who you are. We will only write about this concept and the pilot.