Description ACCOMPANY provides a robotic companion as part of an intelligent environment. It helps older people to live independently at home by providing physical, cognitive and social assistance in everyday home tasks. ACCOMPANY contributes to the re-enablement of the user by assisting him or her to carry out tasks independently. Services to the user will be delivered through socially interactive, acceptable and empathic interaction, building on computational models of social cognition and interaction. With Care-O-bot® 3, a state of the art service robot platform, user requirements and user acceptance of the robot will be assessed. User study results will be fed back to make the technology better suit user demands and preferences. Three test sites in three different European countries (UK, the Netherlands and France) as well as a dedicated showcase will ensure an extensive evaluation process which also takes into account cultural differences. ACCOMPANY will specify and benchmark design and ethical guidelines for service robots for the elderly.