Washington, August 03 : With the development of a new robot, Japan is now one step closer to its goal of providing high-quality care for its growing elderly population.

Researchers at RIKEN and Tokai Rubber Industries (TRI) have developed the new robot that uses high-precision tactile sensors and flexible motor control technology.

The robot can lift a patient up to 80kg in weight off floor-level bedding and into a wheelchair, freeing care facility personnel of one of their most difficult and energy-consuming tasks.

In 2009, the RIKEN-TRI Collaboration Center for Human-Interactive Robot Research (RTC), a joint project established in 2007, unveiled a robot called RIBA (Robot for Interactive Body Assistance) designed to assist in this task. The first robot capable of lifting a patient from a bed to a wheelchair and back, RIBA charted a new course in the development of care-giving robots, yet functional limitations prevented its direct commercialization.

RTC''s new robot, named RIBA-II, overcomes these limitations with added power and functionality. New joints in the robot''s base and lower back enable RIBA-II to crouch down and lift a patient off a futon at floor level, the most physically strenuous task for care-givers and one that RIBA was not able to do. RIBA-II accomplishes this task by using newly-developed Smart Rubber sensors the first capacitance-type tactile sensors made entirely of rubber.

Printed in sheets and fitted onto the robot''s arms and chest, the sensors enable high-precision tactile guidance and allow RIBA-II to quickly detect a person''s weight from touch alone, guaranteeing patient safety.
(ANI)