Japan creates teddy bear robot nurse

0
528
Video screenshot of Riba from a Reuters video on YouTube by Tim Hornyak/CNET
Video screenshot of Riba from a Reuters video on YouTube by Tim Hornyak/CNET

I think all of us went through a phase in our childhood life when we wanted to carry our teddy everywhere and glued to our little bodies, day in and day out.

But don’t you think it’s a bit weird for an oversized, robotic teddy to be the one carrying you?

Apparently, the Japanese doesn’t think so.

State-run Riken research center have a created Riba, a robot nurse that can lift elderly patients from wheelchairs and beds. Promoters are calling it the world’s first robot to lift people in its arms.

Short for Robot for Interactive Body Assistance, Riba is a 400-pound robot can carry patients weighing up to 134 pounds in its foam-padded paws. He can recognize faces and voices, and can even respond to voice commands.

Ri-Man, a robot (that I assume looked like a man 😉 ) which Ri-ken developed in 2006, could only lift about 40 pounds and moved slower than Riba.

According to Riken, the cute face is designed to make Riba less imposing. Well, it makes sense actually. Why would some elderly person be afraid of a huge, 400-pound, shiny, white robot that looks like a smiling teddy bear? Really! 😀

Source: http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-10320851-1.html