Kawasaki Heavy Industries has co-developed nurse assistant robot "Nurabot" through a strategic partnership with Foxconn. Aiming for market launch in fiscal year 2026, they have been conducting verification experiments since April 2025 at the Taichung Veterans General Hospital, a national hospital in Taiwan.
Medical institutions in advanced countries are experiencing increasingly serious shortages of medical professionals, particularly nurses. In Taiwan specifically, the challenging physical and mental labor environment has led to a critical nursing shortage, becoming a serious social issue. To continue providing stable medical services to society, initiatives to reduce the burden on nurses who support medical settings are essential.
"Nurabot" is a specially designed robot based on "Nyokkey," Kawasaki's autonomous social robot, for the purpose of assisting nurses' work. Equipped with two arms capable of grasping objects, a cargo compartment, and self-driving functions, it can handle tasks on behalf of nurses, primarily including transporting blood test specimens, medication delivery, facility guidance, and hygiene education for patients.
This robot is realized by combining Kawasaki's technology cultivated in the industrial robot field, knowledge accumulated through social robot development, and Foxconn's software development capabilities. By incorporating the extensive clinical nursing expertise of Taichung Veterans General Hospital, we have been able to develop a robot that directly addresses challenges in nurses' work.
The social robot "Nyokkey," on which "Nurabot" is based, was developed as a versatile platform adaptable to various applications. Beyond the industrial manufacturing sectors where industrial robots have traditionally been used, it can contribute to business efficiency and labor savings across service domains including nursing facilities, infrastructure facilities, restaurants, and medical fields that support life. This application of "Nurabot" represents the first instance of "Nyokkey’s" utilization in medical fields outside of Japan.
Kawasaki will continue to pursue digital transformation and process optimization in the medical field through joint development and verification experiments of "Nurabot" with Foxconn.
