Introduction
Globally, healthcare is staring down a steep shortfall of nurses, with the WHO forecasting a 4.5 million deficit by 2030. The problem is intensified by burnout: a third of nurses worldwide report feeling emotionally exhausted and show other burnout signs. To help, tech companies are swooping in with fresh ideas. At the forefront is Foxconn, which recently unveiled Nurabot, an AI-driven robot aimed at lightening the crushing burden on human caregivers.
This nursing robot is a major leap forward in medical technology. Powered by NVIDIA’s AI platform, Nurabot handles the repetitive and heavy tasks that tire nurses the most. Since April 2025, the bot has been tested at Taichung Veterans General Hospital in Taiwan, and early numbers look good. According to Foxconn, Nurabot can shrink nurses’ to-do lists by as much as 30%, freeing them to spend more time on actual patient care and the critical decisions that guide it.
The Growing Nursing Shortage Crisis
The healthcare sector is facing a crisis that is coming at us like a perfect storm. Older people across the globe are living longer, patient demands are rising, and the number of available nurses keeps falling. The World Health Organization projects that by 2030, the population 60 and older will grow by 40% compared with 2019. Even more eye-opening, the United Nations expects that by the mid-2030s, people 80 and older will outnumber babies born each day.
This huge demographic change is pushing the demand for healthcare services higher just when nursing shortages are most painful. Southeast Asia is one region that will be among the worst, with shortages projected to be severe. Nurses there—and everywhere—are already under stress. Turnover is rising, and surveys show that burnout is affecting almost one-third of nurses worldwide.
What is Nurabot?
Nurabot is a new kind of nursing robot that is stepping in to help. Powered by AI and designed to work in healthcare, it takes over the time-consuming and physically tough tasks that slow human caregivers. The nursing robot was built by Foxconn, a company you know for its role in electronics, together with partner Kawasaki Heavy Industries, a Japanese robotics leader. This collaboration is pushing nursing technology forward in a powerful way.
The nursing robot glides effortlessly on wheels, its two flexible robotic arms ready to pick up and steady whatever care workers need—from medication trays to documents. Multiple cameras and sensors help it scan hallways, lobbies, and patient rooms so it can find the safest, fastest courses. After studying what nurses face every day, from the miles spent hauling samples across floors to the need for secure drug delivery, Foxconn built storage compartments that lock up vials, IV supplies, and labels.
What really makes this nursing robot special is its cutting-edge AI backbone. NVIDIA teamed up to layer together several top-secret AI systems, crafting software that lets the bot think, move, and organize its shift like a seasoned nurse. It can assign itself deliveries, change route if a hall is busy, and even adjust its to-do list on the fly. For talking with caregivers and the people they help, the robot leans on Foxconn’s big, homegrown language model, making chatter, reminders, and care updates feel smoother and less robotic.
How the Nursing Robot Is Transforming Healthcare Delivery
Nursing robots are already making a real difference in hospitals, and the proof is in the data coming out of Taichung Veterans General Hospital. The hospital is testing a nursing robot named Nurabot, and the results are noticeable. Here are some key tasks it’s handling on a daily basis:
- Medication delivery: Nurabot takes pills and supplies straight to patient rooms, freeing nurses for more complex care.
- Specimen transport: The robot carries lab samples to testing areas, speeding diagnoses.
- Patient guidance: New or worried visitors receive directions through the hospital, cutting wait times at the main desk.
- Ward patrols: Nurabot walks the halls on night shifts, alerting staff when lights are left on or equipment needs charging.
- Patient education: The robot hands out brochures and printed reminders at the bedside, reinforcing what nurses have already taught.
Shu-Fang Liu, the hospital’s deputy nursing department director, notes, “In one of our wards, Nurabot delivers wound care kits and health education materials. Nurses save physically draining trips to the supply room and can spend longer at the patient’s side.”
The robot’s duties go beyond simple time-savings, though. By standardizing medication handoffs, specimen labeling, and patient instructions, it minimizes the kind of small missteps—misreading a label, forgetting a post-op pamphlet—that can lead to bigger problems. Automating the repetitive hurts lowers the chances of forgetting steps and keeps care protocols consistent, day in and day out.
The Technology Behind the Nursing Robot
Nurabot brings together several cutting-edge technologies to assist nurses. Here’s how it works:
NVIDIA Isaac for Healthcare: This AI platform serves as the core brain of the nursing robot. It lets the robot talk naturally, see, hear, and even build a real-time 3D map of its surroundings.
FoxBrain LLM: Developed by Foxconn, this model specializes in Traditional Chinese. It powers the robot’s voice, letting it listen, understand, and speak fluently to patients and teammates.
Digital Twin Technology: Before the robot stepped into the real hospital, it learned in a detailed virtual version of the building, made with NVIDIA Omniverse. Practicing in this secure “twin” reduced rollout time by 40% and tested every move safely.
Edge Computing: An NVIDIA Jetson AGX Orin onboard the robot handles all AI calculations locally. This means it can think fast without needing to connect to the internet.
Sensor Technology: A network of cameras and specialized sensors lets the robot see who’s around, identify medical gear, and steer smoothly around people and walls.
This tech packaging helps the nursing robot “sense, think, and move almost like a real person” and fine-tunes what it does “for each patient, setting, and circumstance,” notes David Niewolny, NVIDIA’s healthcare business development director.
Real-World Impact: 30% Drop in Nursed-Workload
Nurabot’s biggest takeaway is nurse relief. Foxconn thinks putting the robot to work on tasks like med delivery, specimen movement, and ward rounds could lighten overall nurse duties by as much as 30% once it’s fully in use.
That slice of percentage shows up as minutes, not just numbers: A typical nurse is clocking 2-3 fewer hours each shift just on transport chores. Those reclaimed minutes matter a lot on night shifts, when fewer hands are on the floor and the press on bedside care is the heaviest.
Accuracy of Sensor Data: Robots depend on precise sensor readings to navigate and assist. Environmental clutter or inconsistent lighting can confuse systems, messing with task execution. Nurse manager Mei Cheng warns, “One chair in the aisle or an open blinds panel can throw everything off, delaying care a whole shift.”
Workforce Training: Staff must learn to trust and control the technology. Before deployment, hands-on workshops let nurses manage the robot, adapting to its moves. Simulation training helps build instinct, or, as educator Ryan Hu puts it, “It’s the difference between driving a bicycle and a self-driving toy—both steer, but pathways in the mind expand first.”
Patient Engagement: Some patients may feel anxious or detached. Preferences must be personalized, with team members instructing the robot when and how to communicate in a soothing, respectful voice. Psychiatrist Lara Tan reminds, “Any nurse robot that starts talking soullessly can instantly feel like a robot instead of a hand of help.”
Workload Feedback: Too many requests can bog the robot, shifting the care team into overload. Real-time analytics anticipate peak moments—med locations, lovenotes, and assess inspection, alerting nurses before a flood. Informatics lead Sam Du encourages, “Loop data back to the robot, so it learns a minute ago why we skipped 16 trays and it doesn’t queue 12,000 files, jamming midday Milo. Prediction trumps panic.”
Addressing Key Nursing Robot Challenges in Real Life
Patient Preferences: Personal Touch Matters
Many patients still prefer talking to a real person rather than a robot, especially in healthcare. A friendly smile or a chat can mean a lot where comfort is key. Hospitals should listen to patients and let humans play a central role in care, even when robots assist.
Safety Protocols: Go Slow, Go Safe
Keeping patients safe is a top job. Long testing and strong rules for data security are a must. Kwan urges teams to “walk before you run” so each robot passes strict checks before anyone in a hospital sees it.
Technical Reliability: Bugs Can’t Be Ignored
Earlier healthcare robots ran into hiccups—things like system crashes, poor touchscreens, and the need for constant nurse retraining. These tech quirks must be solved so caregivers and patients get robots that run smoothly.
Workflow Integration: Change Isn’t Just a Button Push
Adding robots into the daily routine isn’t press-and-go. Hospitals need to rethink how medications are stored, where supplies are delivered, and how care rounds are charted so the tech powers staff rather than stalls them.
Let’s Test First
Foxconn is leading the way by rigorously testing robots in “digital twin” hospital rooms—virtual copies of real wards where the robot can practice getting meds, refilling bedside trays, and more. Only after it masters the routine in pixels will it step onto the floor.
The Future of Nursing Robots in Healthcare
Foxconn is gearing up to give its Nurabot some impressive new skills, like talking to patients in multiple languages and helping them move around. Picture a person with a lung problem who needs to get from bed to a chair. Right now, two nurses might have to lift that person, but a high-tech nursing robot could mean only one nurse has to lift at all. That frees up the other nurse to give care to another patient right away.
Foxconn isn’t keeping all its tech to itself. They’re open-sourcing parts of the healthcare AI software. That means other developers can work on the same code, tweak it, and make it even better. One of the coolest projects is the CoroSegmentater. It’s a model that can pinpoint spots in coronary arteries and will be added to the MONAI Model Zoo, a shared library for anyone in the global AI medicine community.
The robots are just one piece of the puzzle. Foxconn also teams up with hospitals to build full-blown smart healthcare systems using NVIDIA’s Omnivert technology. These projects create super-detailed digital twins, or virtual copies, of operating rooms and nurses’ stations. The twins are used to practice new workflows and spotlight areas where hospitals can run smoother and safer.
Global Implications and Market Potential
The global market for nursing robots is expanding rapidly and should grab the attention of investors. Within the broader smart hospital market, which Mordor Intelligence projects will reach $72.24 billion by 2025, nursing robots stand out. Currently, the Asia Pacific region leads this growth.
Tech giants clearly see the opportunity. Beyond NVIDIA, companies such as Amazon and Google are actively scoping the $9.8 trillion healthcare market. Results from the early Nurabot trial suggest broader success is achievable; this is likely to draw even more funding into nursing robots and the healthcare AI that powers them.
Real-world examples outside the pilot setting are multiplying. Singapore’s Changi General Hospital already employs more than 80 robots that assist with administrative tasks, deliver medications, and more. Meanwhile, almost 100 Moxi robots created by Texas-based Diligent Robots and powered by NVIDIA’s AI traverse U.S. hospitals carrying medications, samples, and supplies safely from ward to ward. Early promoters are being reinforced daily by fresh proof points.
Conclusion: Joining Forces—Nurses and Robots Shape Tomorrow Together
Nursing robots don’t aim to take jobs from people but instead to rethink what it means to be a nurse. In the words of Alice Lin from Foxconn, Nurabot is built to grow alongside human caregivers, granting professionals the gift of time to direct, touch, and decide what aids the patient most—those uniquely human acts we call nursing.
Robots aren’t the quick fix for every shift shortfall, but Lin sees them easing three pressures: a growing older population, high staff turnover, and vacancies. When hospitals face the double wave of fewer hands and fuller wards, a nursing companion can lift the weight of simple tasks, giving skilled eyes and ears the room to concentrate where clinical know-how counts.
Trials are moving fast, testing smarter, safer, and more trusted robots. As innovations arrive—better algorithms, gentler designs, and friendlier controls—healthcare won’t just be busier, but a different kind of thoughtful: less strain on the back, and more energy for the heart. a nurse, a patient, and a robot colleague will wrap around a care plan and keep it personal.
As Foxconn gears up to introduce the Nurabot to the market in early 2026 the healthcare world will be paying close attention. If this nursing robot performs well it could open the door for hospitals around the globe to start using robots as part of patient care. That kind of shift might be the best answer we have to the ongoing nursing shortage around the planet.
Sources: https://edition.cnn.com/2025/09/12/tech/taiwan-nursing-robots-nurabot-foxconn-nvidia-hnk-spc
For more news updates, visit our home page.
