Social distancing has led to human beings to take a back seat and let robots spin the wheel. A pandemic that has completely negated the concept of physical touch or proximity for social beings has fortunately had robots to substitute.
Robots have been used at hospitals in India to cater to COVID patients that are in isolation wards, provide sanitisers and face masks, disinfect places, and more. A lot of robotics startups have risen to the occasion and helped government deploy robots in crucial places.
Coro- Bot
Very recently, a Thane based engineer has developed a robot that is controlled by the internet to help out hospitals that are treating COVID patients. He has named the bot “Coro bot” which highlights its role during this pandemic.
This robot helps out nurses and doctors at hospital premises by serving food, beverages, medicines, and advice to those patients that don’t need caregivers. It is developed by Pratik Tirodkar who founded PNT solutions, a startup based in Dombivali. The bot has been deployed in Kalyan’s Holy Cross Hospital.
Tirodkar also mentions how the company has developed an app infused with IoT technology that allows the operation of the Coro-bot from anywhere. PNT solutions now has orders from 2 dozens hospitals in Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR).
Robots at AIIMS
Milagrow’s AI-powered robots– Milagrow iMap 9 and Humanoid ELF have been helping doctors and nurses at AIIMS Delhi at COVID wards. These robots have been sanitising the premises by navigating through the hospital and spraying floor disinfectants.
It has also enabled doctors to interact and monitor the condition of COVID infected persons without having to be in close proximity. Not just this, the robot indulges patients in conversations by allowing them to interact with their friends and families.
ITI Cuttack’s low-cost bot
Run by the government, Industrial Training Institute based in Cuttack has developed two robots that will be helping health workers by reducing transmission risk and also the requirement of protective gear.
These robots are priced around Rs. 2.5 lakhs and have been made in collaboration with startup SAK Robotics Lab. One of the robots is named CO-BOT which stands for Corona Combat Robot that has a humanoid structure. The second one is called NIGA-BOT which is for surveillance and telecommunication.
Asimov Robotics’ cleaning bots
Asimov Robotics is a Kochi based startup that has developed robots to help during the pandemic. These robots provide sanitisers and masks to those who visit hospitals and give information related to COVID.
Along with spraying sanitiser across the premise, they also clean handlebars on doors. They take up a temperature check of people and also help to disinfect phones, coins, and currency.
A robot is a reliable substitute…
An infectious disease with no successful treatment is one of the worst situations the world has been living in. The use of robots during this time has seen great results as they have been protecting health workers and performing sanitising duties. Maybe after the pandemic, there will be a new age of robots taking over tasks that humans can’t.