The robots will massage you now

Boston Globe

18-07-2025

The just-opened Beacon Street spot uses a machine called the Aescape, which has been hailed as both the future of massage therapy and also a vexing reminder of how AI is coming for our jobs — even ones that rely on the most hands-on of interactions, human touch.
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For owner Derrick Young, the Aescape is an opportunity.
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Young (as in Forever Young) has worked in public health in Boston for a decade and now runs a nonprofit,
Derrick Young looked at the AI-enabled massage robot, called the Aescape, at Forever Young Spa in Boston.
John Tlumacki/Globe Staff
Enter the Aescape. The robotics company first launched its devices in some Equinox gyms last year and has raised some
And, no, they don't envision a wave of spas staffed solely by robots, framing their machines more as an extra set of hands (arms?) as a 'complimentary tool' to support the human masseuse.
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Lynne McNees, the president of trade group the International SPA Association, said she doesn't view Aescape as a threat, but rather a smart solution for the $22 billion industry, which is struggling to recruit enough licensed professionals to meet demand.
As of 2024, McNees said, an iSPA industry report calculated a 17,760-person massage therapist shortage nationwide.
And in surveys, 55 percent of customers indicated they're interested in incorporating cutting-edge technology alongside traditional treatments.
'The Aescape robotic massage is not going to ever replace the human touch,' she said. But 'spa owners and operators have had to get creative and put in touchless amenities to not turn people away.'
Aescape rents its devices to vendors like Young for about $5,000 a month, but only if they also employ human therapists. Young sees his Aescape as 'a co-creator and a colleague,' and an option for potential customers who might be disinclined to seek out a massage from a stranger.
'So many people have told me that they don't like humans touching them, or taking off their clothes' for a treatment, he said. 'This is a great alternative for people who don't like traditional massage therapy.'
It's also less expensive; an hourlong Aescape session is $150, while Forever Young's traditional, human, massages (if that's how we need to distinguish them now) start at $200 an hour.
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Of course, I had to try it out.
So what is it like? After a cup of tea upon arrival, customers are asked to disrobe, and then put on Aerwear — a body-hugging T-shirt and leggings that provide friction for the robot arms. Aerwear is not optional.
'Without it,' Aescape's website warns, 'the robotics will feel like rug burn.'
The massage table itself is shaped like a lower-case 'i,' with robotic arms situated on either side, each with a half-dozen 'joints' allowing for a wide range of mobility.
Like a traditional massage table, your face rests on a small circular pillow with an opening to breathe and see through. But here, a tablet that controls the robot is placed several inches from your face, allowing you to adjust the height of the pillows, the placement of the leg bolster, and ultimately the massage experience itself.
A demonstration of the AI-enabled massage given by Aescape at Forever Young Spa.
John Tlumacki/Globe Staff
There's also a big red button that acts like an emergency brake, should the robot get too grabby. It's not unlike the abort button on a treadmill; indeed, the Aescape has the aesthetic of high-end fitness equipment.
Once the attendant leaves the room, it's just you and the device. No small talk, no weird moment of tucking your naked body under a blanket and waiting for the door to reopen. There's no Ayurveda oil, warm stones, or eucalyptus-scented candles. Instead, there were two phone tripods, a phone camera remote, and lens-cleaning wipes, presumably for the influencers who have been early visitors to the spa.
When you lie down on your belly, the device uses four cameras to create a full-body scan before the start of the treatment.
On the screen in front of my face, an image of my backside appears, and a triangle of muscles on my right shoulder that seemed larger than the ones on my left.
A good sign after weeks of right shoulder and neck pain,
I thought as I hit the start button and held my breath.
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The robot's first touch was warm, and felt like a series of purposeful footsteps down my back. I imagined an actual robot, not two disembodied arms, traversing down my backbone at a steady, methodical pace. I switched the screen before me to a video of a rainstorm soaking a forest. Calming music played as the robot arms danced along my shoulders and upper back.
At first, the sensation felt familiar, a bit like a massage chair at a nail salon. Then the pressure changed, and for a moment, the robot's nubby nodes felt like fingertips pushing into a hollow between my shoulder blade and spine. It actually felt good.
For a few minutes, the robot's arms twirled like an orchestra conductor's along my back and shoulders. The pressure was consistent, but the motions were unpredictable, and felt, with eyes closed, much like a real massage.
When I toggled the tablet screen to the digital image of my back, and saw that there was a menu tracking the stages of the treatment. Two firefly-like circles, representing the robot's 'hands,' traversed my spine, glowing brighter as more pressure was applied. Watching the screen, it felt like a game to see where the flies would land next. It was time to see what this robot could do, and I upped the pressure.
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As the robot's arms moved toward the small of my back, I wondered, for a quick moment, if its AI-enabled brain was wise enough not to completely squash me like a bug.
Does anyone ever have to push that red button to avoid being pinned by these robotic arms?
I wondered. But then my mind shifted and I realized that it had begun its massage of my butt.
The massage moved steadily down my body — I'd signed up for a 45-minute treatment that involved glutes and hamstrings, so this wasn't a complete surprise — but by the time the robot arms began to reach my hamstrings a few minutes later, I was feeling the downside of not having a human in the loop.
I wanted more work on my stiff shoulder, but there was no way to reprogram a massage once it has begun.
You can skip through a part you don't like, but you can't pick where the massage goes next. The tablet lets you tap a heart to 'like' when the robot is getting you at the good spot, to help program future massages.
But on this day, there was no verbal feedback loop, no way to have the machine focus on a given area (like my shoulder) unless you'd set it up ahead of time (Young said an upgrade to allow for such requests was installed this week). And despite Aescape's AI-enabled smarts, at this point at least, the body scan doesn't seem to inform any kind of diagnosis on what problem areas need more attention.
Young acknowledges that the Aescape may not be for everyone.
'At the end of the day, there is something about he human touch that a robot just won't be able to meet,' Young said. 'At the same time, it allows us to cater to a different audience, those folks not comfortable with someone touching them.'
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After 45 minutes, the robot arms began easing up, giving my back gentle pressure to reset my muscles. My shoulder begged for a few more nudges, but alas, the massage was literally out of my hands. The massage ended, the screen went dark, and the machine reminded me to sip some water.
Out in the lobby, 'Forever Young' was again playing on the radio. 'Do you really want to live forever?' the song asked.
If you do, maybe the Aescape will be there too.
Janelle Nanos can be reached at