Japanese fascination with humanoid robots continues unabated as the RIBA, or Robot for Interactive Body Assistance, got a bit of an upgrade. The cute and scary RIBA II can now lift people up to 175 pounds (previously only 135), place them into a wheelchair, and it seems to move more gently than before.
Nevertheless, it doesn’t seem to actually be a robot, but rather a complicated forklift that’s directly controlled by an operator pushing buttons.
See for yourself:
Flashback: Robotic Nurse Assistant to Ferry Patients Around Hospital Wards..
(hat tip: ZDNet)