Engineers in Japan have created a caregiving robot to help busy nursing home workers who lift residents roughly 40 times per day.
The “RIBA-II,” which stands for Robot for Interactive Body Assistance, was designed specifically for nursing and assisted living facilities where caregivers are racing to keep up with a rapidly aging population, PC World reported. Due to a shortage of human caregivers in nursing facilities, developers have been working to develop robots that can clean and monitor nursing home wards, and even entertain residents. RIBA-II can lift up to 176 pounds from ground level, wheelchairs and beds.
Developers plan to start testing the robot in long-term care facilities by next year, and expect to begin sales of the robot in 2015. The targeted price for the machine is approximately $78,000, according to the tech magazine. Click here to watch RIBA-II in action.
