A research team led by Associate Professor Fumihide Tanaka of the University of Tsukuba announced on 17 January that they had developed a robot that, when placed in a patient's hand, moves as if it were gently gripping the hand to relieve pain and anxiety, such as during injections.
The act of rubbing the body to relieve pain is routinely performed in nursing and care workplaces, and its effectiveness has also been studied.
Mr.Tanaka said: ''The effect may be similar to that of being rubbed by a person. We would like to make use of this in busy workplaces".
The robot is the size of a fist and covered in soft cotton fabric. When you wrap it around your hand and hold it, an airbag built into its body reacts, giving you the sensation of being gripped back.
