Norwegian tech company No Isolation, co-founded by Karen Dolva, has developed the AV1 telepresence robot to help children with serious medical conditions feel less isolated. The small, expressive robot sits in the classroom, acting as the eyes, ears, and voice for a child who must be at home or in a hospital.
In 2023, the World Health Organization (WHO) made a stark declaration: loneliness is a global health threat. For children battling long-term illness, this isolation is compounded by being cut off from school, friends, and normalcy. But what if a simple, friendly-looking robot could bridge that gap? That’s the mission of Norwegian company No Isolation and its co-founder, Karen Dolva. In the final episode of Euronews Tech Talks’ robotics series, Dolva detailed how their invention, the AV1 robot, is designed not to replace human connection, but to facilitate it for those who need it most.
The company’s origin story is deeply human. “The idea was sparked by a friend of mine who had worked as a nurse on a children’s ward, and she mentioned these kids didn’t get nearly enough visitors,” Dolva told Euronews Next. Founded in 2015, No Isolation set out to tackle this specific problem. Their solution is the AV1, a telepresence robot that acts as a physical avatar for an absent child. The robot sits at the child’s desk in school, while the child controls it remotely from a hospital bed or home. Through its camera, the child can see the classroom; through its speaker, they can participate in discussions.
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Critically, Dolva emphasizes that the goal is integration, not replacement. “They [the children] are not lazy, they’re ill. There’s always the intent of going back [to school],” she stated in the interview. The AV1 is a tool for maintaining that vital social and educational tether, preventing a child from disappearing from their peer group during months of treatment. This approach aligns with a 2025 WHO report, cited by Euronews, which found that an estimated 16 per cent of people reported feeling lonely, with rates higher among adolescents, and identified technology like robotics as a growing area of interest for intervention.
The design of the AV1 is key to its success. It’s a small, white robot with just a head and upper body, deliberately avoiding a creepy humanoid appearance. “We’ve followed a lot of the design principles by Pixar,” Dolva explained, aiming for something expressive and reassuring without being overly specific. The neutral, friendly aesthetic is strategic. “We’re going to try to fit a six-year-old boy and a seventeen-year-old girl and everyone in between… so it needs to be quite neutral,” she told Euronews Next. This allows children of all ages to project themselves onto the device without stigma.
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The robot’s simple features—a camera, speaker, and a head that can turn and light up to indicate when the child wants to speak—create a surprising sense of presence. For the classmates, the AV1 is a gentle reminder that their friend is still part of the group. For the child using it, it’s a lifeline. Dolva’s broader ambition is to prove that socially-driven “hard tech” companies can thrive. “My personal goal with all of this has been to prove that this hard first impact companies can become very successful,” she said.
As loneliness is increasingly recognized as a critical public health issue, solutions like the AV1 represent a compassionate intersection of technology and human need. It doesn’t simulate a friend; it enables a sick child to still be one. In a world where one in six people report feeling lonely, this small Norwegian robot offers a powerful lesson: sometimes, the most advanced technology is the one that quietly helps a kid feel less alone.
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