San Francisco, California - We may have robots to take care of us in the not-so-distant future, according to the Association of Mature American Citizens.

In fact, Louise Aronson, an associate professor of geriatrics at the University of California at San Francisco, recently made the case for automatons as care-givers in a New York Times Op Ed article.  She noted that researchers around the world are developing computer-based practitioners.

There are skeptics who argue that machines cannot replace humans, but Aronson says "the biggest argument for robot caregivers is that we need them. We do not have anywhere near enough human caregivers for the growing number of older Americans."

It'll be some time, if ever, for android nurses to be accepted, says AMAC.  But, in the meantime the quest goes on.  In Japan, they are building robots that can provide basic nursing chores.  In Europe, they are developing a machine that has human features and a built-in touch screen computer.  And, in Sweden they are designing one that can allow doctors to make virtual house calls.