Foxconn and Kawasaki Heavy Industries began testing a robotic nursing assistant in a hospital in Taiwan, seeking to put the machine into commercial service within two years.

Kawasaki Heavy Industries stated testing of Nurabot is taking place in the Taichung Veterans Hospital as the companies look to ease pressure on nurses and other medical professionals. The goal is to launch a commercial product by the close of the Japanese company’s fiscal 2026, which runs to end-March 2027.

Nurabot is essentially a tailored version of Kawasaki Heavy Industries’ Nyokkey robot, which is designed to be adapted for specific uses. The medical edition features a pair of arms with grabbing capabilities, a cargo compartment and self-driving capabilities.

A nurse enters data at a computer workstation in a hospital room while a white service robot with a screen face and multiple arms stands nearby. Medical equipment and oxygen tanks are visible along the wall. The room is well-lit and clean.

The companies see uses including transporting specimens, delivering medication, guiding people through hospitals and offering hygiene advice for patients.

Kawasaki Heavy Industries explained Nurabot combines its industrial robotics expertise with Foxconn’s software development capabilities and the knowledge of nurses at the Taiwanese hospital.

Barry Chiang, president of Business Group B at Foxconn, said the companies are evaluating how Nurabot performs in a real-world setting with a view to fine-tuning its capabilities.

He said the companies are “confident” they can “bring innovation to medical settings”, cut the burden on nurses and improve patient services.

The potential of the global medical robotics sector is big: Precedence Research forecast revenue to grow from $15.6 billion this year to $64.4 billion in 2034 and Grand View Research pegged the value of the companion market alone at $2.1 billion in 2024.