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RIBA Robot for Interactive Body Assistance
The RIBA (Robot for Interactive Body Assistance) bot is a robot nurse created by Japan’s Institute of Physical and Chemical Research (RIKEN) and Tokai Rubber Industries, Ltd. (TRI). The main function of the RIBA nurse robot is to safely pick up and transfer patients weighing up to 135 pounds from one surface to another (like from a bed to a wheelchair).
Take a look at the RIBA video below.
(RIBA [Robot for Interactive Body Assistance] video)
The RIBA nurse robot has multi-jointed arms that are embedded with sensors to help it balance the load; its surface is covered with a soft lightweight urethane foam, forming a soft skin.
(RIBA tactile arm sensors completely cover surface, then skin overall)
RIBA can recognize faces and voices and respond to verbal orders. It also works well with humans, using both visual and audio information from its surroundings.
(RIBA robot nurse)
RIBA's processing power greatly exceeds that of its predecessor and is distributed throughout the body of the robot on more than 20 separate circuit boards to simplify wiring. Omnidirectional wheels in RIBA's base let it maneuver in the cluttered environment of hospital rooms.
RIBA is an upgrade for the earlier RI-MAN elder care robot; see a detailed article on the RI-MAN face tracking, electronic nose robot nurse.
Japan has long been concerned with the needs of an aging population combined with fewer children to take care of their parents. Japan's roboticists are ahead in this area, and so are their manga and anime creators. Consider the Roujin-Z robotic hospital bed, which can pick up and carry patients. As a former military robot, it can also defend its patients against all possible health care vicissitudes.
(Roujin-Z robot hospital bed)
From RIBA nursing assistant robot (Google translation of press release) via Pink Tentacle.
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