Giant Robotic Teddy Bears: Japan’s New Nurses?
What’s the best way for a country with one of the most rapidly-growing elderly populations to deal with staffing shortages in the medical industry? Well, obviously you would need to invent a giant robotic nurse, and it would naturally have to look like a teddy bear. Let’s take a look at the cutesy future of Japanese healthcare: riba 1 428×466 custom Giant Robotic Teddy Bears: Japans New Nurses? picture Is it cute, or is it creepy? Either way, the state-run Riken research center’s “Robot for Interactive Body Assistance” (more affectionately known as “Riba”) could be just what Japan’s hospitals are looking for—nurses that don’t need salaries or lunch breaks. Riba 2 Weighing in at 400 pounds, this cuddly caretaker boasts foam-padded paws, a soft skin-like exterior, and a sweet face designed especially for the patient’s aesthetic pleasure. With features like that, Riba can attend to patients and move them around without scaring them to death. After all, what’s the use of a robot nurse if i
