Japanese healthcare robot RIBA II lifts patients from bed to wheelchair

Asia-Pacific Aug 18, 2011

RIBA-II, the next generation Japanese healthcare robot developed by researchers at RIKEN and Tokai Rubber Industries (TRI), a Japanese government-run research body that surveyed nursing homes to find that lifting patients was the most tiring thing for workers, carried out an average of 40 times every day.

RIBA-II can lift a patient from a floor-level Japanese futon. Photo credit: RIKEN

RIBA II robot will benefit healthcare workers as it can lift a patient from the floor or a bed up to 80KG in weight and then it can move them to either a bed or a wheelchair.

New RIBA II robot using high-precision tactile sensors and flexible motor control technology has taken Japan one step closer to its goal of providing high-quality care for its growing elderly population.

In 2009, the RIKEN-TRI Collaboration Center for Human-Interactive Robot Research (RTC), a joint project established in 2007 and located at the Nagoya Science Park in central Japan, unveiled a robot called RIBA (Robot for Interactive Body Assistance) designed to assist nursing care workers to lift patients. The project was financed by Japanese government and Tokai.

You can see a video of the RIBA II Robot at YouTube.

By Aqeel Qureshi