MAUTZI. Technology that listens.

MAUTZI is a voice-controlled companion for residents of care homes. An animated cat appears on a tablet, and you simply talk to it. It chats, plays bingo or memory, reminds people of appointments and of drinking, and answers questions about the weather and the news.

The aim is less loneliness and more activity in everyday life, plus relief for nursing staff. The tablet arrives preconfigured and needs no setup on site.

In care homes there is little time for conversation. Managers and nursing staff described this consistently on site. Digital offerings often fail at touchscreens, menus and small type.

I have been a co-founder of MAUTZI since 2025, together with Josephine Schulz. The idea came to us during our studies, not least through our work at Enactus, our enthusiasm for AI and the contact with our grandparents.

I am responsible for the technology concept, data modelling and further development and helped build the prototype myself. Josephine is responsible for product concept and user experience. In January 2026 the NBank startup grant followed.

Early on we spoke with managers and nursing staff. The most important feedback was unambiguous. A system only helps if it creates no extra work for staff.

MAUTZI runs as a tablet app in kiosk mode, with an animated cat as the assistant. One button starts the conversation. After that, voice activity detection takes over.

We tested the prototype on site with residents.

A working prototype with free conversation, appointments, weather, news, a media library, voice games such as bingo and memory, and a drink reminder.

My bachelor's thesis modelled four usage scenarios as service blueprints and derived nine design requirements from them.

The conversations on site shaped the development. Next up are voice operation throughout, feedback when the network fails and a trial in the daily operation of a care home.