Populations in developing nations are aging, putting increased demands on healthcare systems. This has been said so much as to almost become cliché. The fact is that healthcare is in need of automation technology, and robotics companies are answering the call.

One such company is InTouch Technologies. It has only been around for a few years and has yet to complete its website. Still, InTouch has been making waves by fulfilling a vital need. Its product, RP-6, let’s doctors visit patients remotely.

The RP-6 is InTouch’s sixth generation remote presence droid. Controlled by a webcam and joystick, it requires broadband access both at the hospital and at the doctor’s desk. Commands are then sent from a server to the RP-6 over WiFi. This communication link is reliable and impressive enough to earn Cisco’s Growing with Technology Awards.

The droid itself stands 5 feet, 5 inches. Having wheels limits the RP-6 to flat surfaces, though the drive system is reasonably efficient. It manages to squeeze an 8-hour runtime from a single charge.

RP-6’s head is a combination LCD panel and video camera. The head can tilt and pan, at a range of 116° and 170° respectively. Once pointed at the object of interest, the doctor can look closely by using the camera’s 12X optical zoom.

Hospitals can rent the RP-6 for $4,000 a month, or buy it outright from InTouch for $120,000. Last year, my local Detroit Medical Center picked up ten of these units. This month another unit found a home at Baltimore's Sinai Hospital. This is a robot on the move.