When it comes to being a caregiver for the infirmed and immobile, it takes a whole lot of grit, strength, emotional stability and perseverance to be good at it, let alone great. We humans do have our limits from time to time, and this is where robots come in. Sure, they will lack the human touch, but at least they don’t tire out or get irritated if you relate your story to them for the umpteenth time. The RIBA II robot comes across as a two-armed care support robot which is strong enough to lift a patient from a prone position on the floor to a wheelchair.
It has also been described to move Alzheimer’s patients who are lying on the floor to a wheelchair without any problem at all, and since it will come into direct contact with the infirmed, it makes perfect engineering sense to cover it with a soft material so that no one will be injured by accident during the transportation process. This is made possible thanks to all-rubber, flexible touch sensors known as SR sensors that cover the exterior of the RIBA II.
Capable of lifting weights of up to 80 kg, the RIBA II is tipped to greatly reduce care workloads. A commercial release date is targeted in 2015, so hopefully it will be affordable to even the average household by then.