LAS VEGAS, Jan. 12, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Aflac, the
leader in voluntary insurance sales at the worksite in the United States, capped off a busy week at
the Consumer Electronics Show® (CES) by accepting the
Best of CES 2018 Award for Best Unexpected Product for My
Special Aflac Duck, the company's new social robot designed to
help children coping with cancer. The smart companion was created
by Sproutel, a research and development workshop focused on making
health care playful, based on a year of child-centered research
conducted by Sproutel at the Aflac Cancer and Blood Disorders
Center of Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, one of the most prominent children's
cancer facilities in the nation, caring for more than 400 new
childhood cancer patients each year.
"Understandably, many people were surprised to see an insurance
company and a duck at CES – the global stage for innovation. Aflac
is grateful that attendees took the time to learn about My
Special Aflac Duck and recognize not only the impressive
technology built into the social robot, but the important impact
that we believe it will have on the children and families facing
cancer across the country," Aflac Chairman and CEO Dan Amos said. "Receiving this award confirms
our core belief that investing in creating tangible ways to improve
our world is good for our communities and our business, and we
invite others to support this worthy cause."
The Best of CES Awards celebrate the innovation and noteworthy
products on display by the more than 3,900 exhibitors at CES each
year. Earlier in the week, My Special Aflac Duck was
recognized as the winner of the prestigious "Tech for a Better
World" CES Innovation Award and the IHS Markit Innovation Award for
Robotics and Drones at CES 2018.
"It is humbling to be recognized among the impressive
innovations at CES and gratifying that this new robotic companion
can make a real difference in the lives of children who have
cancer," said Aaron Horowitz, CEO
and co-founder of Sproutel. "The Best of CES Award is the ultimate
stamp of approval for my team's creative ideas and innovations. I
would like to thank Aflac for making the development of My
Special Aflac Duck possible and supporting our
patient-centered, empathy-driven design process that puts children
first."
My Special Aflac Duck, part of Aflac's ongoing Aflac
Childhood Cancer Campaign and developed by Sproutel, features
naturalistic movements and joyful play to help distract children
coping with cancer. With four patents pending and a year of
child-centered research behind it, My Special Aflac Duck is
a smart comforting companion that helps children feel less alone by
using interactive technology during their cancer treatment. A
compatible web-based app enables children to mirror their care
routines, including medical play, feeding and bathing via augmented
reality. The smart companion emulates young patients' moods,
endures the same often-painful therapies, and dances, quacks and
nuzzles to help comfort children when they need it most.
In early 2018, Aflac and Sproutel will begin delivering the
My Special Aflac Duck to children at the Aflac Cancer and
Blood Disorders Center of Children's Healthcare of Atlanta for further testing. The smart
companion is expected to be available to children with cancer
nationwide in winter 2018-2019.
To see videos of the award-winning My Special Aflac Duck
in action and to learn more about this important cause, please
visit AflacChildhoodCancer.org.
About Aflac
When a policyholder gets sick or hurt,
Aflac pays cash benefits fast. For more than six decades, Aflac
insurance policies have given policyholders the opportunity to
focus on recovery, not financial stress. In the United States, Aflac is the leader in
voluntary insurance sales at the worksite. Through its trailblazing
One Day PaySM initiative, Aflac U.S. can receive,
process, approve and disburse payment for eligible claims in one
business day. In Japan, Aflac is
the leading provider of medical and cancer insurance and insures 1
in 4 households. Aflac insurance products help provide protection
to more than 50 million people worldwide. For 11 consecutive years,
Ethisphere has recognized Aflac as one of the World's Most Ethical
Companies. In 2017, Fortune magazine recognized Aflac as one of the
100 Best Companies to Work for in America for the 19th consecutive
year and in 2017 included Aflac on its list of Most Admired
Companies for the 16th time. Aflac Incorporated is a Fortune 500
company listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol AFL.
To find out more about Aflac and One Day PaySM, visit
aflac.com or aflac.com/espanol.
Aflac herein means American Family Life Assurance Company of
Columbus and American Family Life
Assurance Company of New York.
About Sproutel
Sproutel is a research and development
workshop focused on making health care playful. Using a
proprietary, patient-centered and empathy-driven design process,
Sproutel collaborates hand in hand with end users and a network of
medical experts to create award-winning innovations like My
Special Aflac Duck and Jerry the Bear. Jerry is an interactive
companion for children living with Type 1 diabetes created in part
with funding from the National Institutes of Health. Companies and
nonprofits partner with Sproutel to develop new products and gain
patient-centered insights to commercialize existing research. To
find out more about Sproutel, visit sproutel.com.
About the Best of CES Awards Program
The Best
of CES Awards Program started over a decade ago to celebrate the
innovation and noteworthy products on display at the Consumer
Electronics Show (CES) each year. For the fifth year, Engadget is
adjudicating the official Awards in partnership with the Consumer
Technology Association (CTA). For the official list of finalists
and winners, visit the Best of CES Awards hub. CES® is a
registered trademark of the CTA.
Media contact – Jon
Sullivan, 706.763.4813 or jsullivan@aflac.com
Aflac analyst and investor contact – David A. Young, 706.596.3264 or 800.235.2667,
FAX 706.324.6330, or dyoung@aflac.com
View original content with
multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/my-special-aflac-duck-takes-home-best-of-ces-2018-award-300581870.html
SOURCE Aflac