Hospi: Meet Panasonic's Awesome Healthcare Robot (Video)

Not too many people know that Panasonic is a quite prolific maker of robots, but big P has actually been quite active in this area in recent years. Case in point: Hospi, a cute hospital robot and one of the winner’s of this year’s Robot Awards (as selected by the Japanese government). It was first publicly shown in 2004.

The new version that you can see in the video embedded below (shot by Diginfonews in Tokyo) is pretty awesome. Hospi is actually part of an integrated medication management and delivery system.

He can pick up medications (including fragile ampoules and vials), arrange them on a tray and deliver them within a hospital – all autonomously.

What’s cool is that Hospi can even use elevators to change floors – again, without human help. For that, he’s equipped with a total of four laser range finders and 27 ultrasonic sensors.

Watch Hospi in action below: