A Japanese company, Riken Research Institute, has designed the RIBA (Robot for Interactive Body Assistance) to help nurses lift and move patients. The 4 and a half-foot robot can lift over 130-pounds, and is outfitted with sensors to recognize faces and answer up to 30 unique commands.

Engineers are hoping to place the robots in Japanese healthcare centers by 2012.

Click here to read the entire article: Japan’s Answer to the Nursing Shortage.