RE2, University of Texas Arlington Developing Robotic Nursing Assistant
The RE2 team working on the robotic nursing assistant, from left to right, Jack Reinhart, Andy Mor, and Jim Grebinoski. Photo: RE2.
Yesterday, Pittsburgh’s RE2 announced it is working alongside the University of Texas at Arlington to design an Adaptive Robotic Nurse Assistant under a program for the National Science Foundation.
The goal of the program is to provide registered nurses with assistants. There are nearly three million RNs currently employed in the United States.
“We envision our robotic nursing assistant will perform the more routine duties that must be done by nurses daily, such as sitting with a patient that is trying to get out of bed and walking with a patient,” says Dan Popa, associate professor of electrical engineering for UTA and program lead. “RE2’s mobile manipulation and robotic nursing design experience make the company an ideal partner for this program.”
RE2 will outfit its manipulator arms onto the assistant. The company says its arms could reduce on-the-job injuries to nurses that lift and maneuver patients.
“We are honored to help design the next-generation robot to assist nurses with their daily tasks,” says Jorgen Pedersen, president and CEO of RE2. “We believe that there is a market for this technology within healthcare environments because of the productivity boost it will offer RNs – allowing them to focus on critical responsibilities while the robot performs the time-consuming mundane tasks.”
