SINGAPORE: A robot masseuse named Emma is offering Singaporeans high-tech back rubs with a gigantic metal arm and warm silicone tips which its creators say perfectly mimic the human touch.

The robot, the brainchild of local startup AiTreat, began work at a clinic in Singapore this week and performs "tui na", a type of massage practised in traditional Chinese medicine.

Emma, which stands for Expert Manipulative Massage Automation, consists of a white metal arm with heated silicone tips that mimic the human palm and thumb.

For S$68, customers at the traditional Chinese medicine clinic get half an hour of robotic massage - on the back or other parts of the body that are aching - five minutes of massage by a human therapist and around 20 minutes of acupuncture.

Ms Calista Lim, a Beijing-trained physician at the NovaHealth TCM clinic, said the robot eases her workload, allowing her to focus on seeing more patients.