Coming soon to India, robots that sanitise hospitals, deliver food and help fight Covid-19
The robots deliver medicine to patients and measure their temperature.
By PTI |
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Supplying essentials to homes and delivering treatment in high-risk areas such as hospitals has remained a challenge, and humans in many cases are now delegating to machines.
NEW DELHI: Stepping in where humans should not, robots are being used for jobs such as sanitising hospitals and delivering food and medicines in many parts of the world and perhaps soon in India where experiments are underway to increase their role in combating Covid-19.
As health workers, researchers and governments struggle to contain the spread of the pandemic that has infected more than 7,00,000 people globally and claimed more than 30,000 lives, robots are also being deployed for administering treatment and providing support to quarantined patients.
The World Health Organisation has advised physical distancing for people around the world to prevent community level transmission of Covid-19.
Supplying essentials to homes and delivering treatment in high-risk areas such as hospitals has remained a challenge, and humans in many cases are now delegating to machines.
Earlier this month, a field hospital staffed with 14 robots opened in the Hongshan Sports Center in Wuhan, China, where the pandemic began.
The robots, supplied by Beijing-based robotics company CloudMinds, can clean and disinfect, deliver medicine to patients and measure their temperature.
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In India, the Sawai Man Singh Government Hospital in the Rajasthan capital Jaipur is conducting a series of trials on a humanoid robot to check if it can be pressed into service for delivering medicines, and food to the Covid-19 patients admitted there. In each case, the use of robots can reduce human exposure to pathogens, which will become increasingly important as epidemics escalate. This could potentially reduce the chances of the hospital staff contracting the infection, hospital officials said.
Besides, Kerala-based startup Asimov Robotics has developed a three-wheeled robot that it says can be used to assist patients in isolation wards.
This will include helping with things like food and medication, something that nurses and doctors have been doing so far, putting them at larger risk of contracting the virus.
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The idea of robots taking up jobs previously done by humans may feel dystopian but scientists believe machines can free up human hospital medical staff while limiting the spread of the virus.
"Robots can play a vital role during the present pandemic as they can minimise human intervention at all levels, starting from patient examination to patient care and drug delivery mechanism," Lovi Raj Gupta, executive dean of Science and Technology in Punjab's Lovely Professional University (LPU), told PTI.
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"As the present pandemic's prevention and cure are centred around distancing, robots are to be brought in so that least human interaction is practised, especially with people who have been found positive and are kept in isolation," Gupta said.
India has reported 1.071 cases, including 29 fatalities.
"Medical workers are working day and night to protect infected people. Maintaining social distancing at hospitals is crucial to stop the spread of the pandemic,"? added Anita Gehlot, associate professor at LPU's School of Electronics and Electrical Engineering.
"In this scenario, robots can play an important role in maintaining hygiene at hospitals and supplying medicines and collecting garbage in patients, bedroom," she added.
According to an editorial published in the journal Science Robotics on March 25, robots can perform tasks such as disinfecting surfaces, taking temperature of people in public areas or at ports of entry, and providing social support for quarantined patients.
They can also collect nasal and throat samples for testing, and enable people to virtually attend conferences and exhibitions, according to the researchers, including those from Carnegie Mellon University in the US.
In each case, the use of robots can reduce human exposure to pathogens, which will become increasingly important as epidemics escalate, they explained.
The robots can take patients' temperatures and protect the safety of healthcare workers by reducing interactions with sick people. For example, engineering students at Bangkok's Chulalongkorn University have repurposed medical "ninja robots" designed for stroke patients to make them useful with patients who have Covid-19.
The robots can take patients' temperatures and protect the safety of healthcare workers by reducing interactions with sick people. Similarly, a hospital in Johannesburg, South Africa, is using an ultraviolet (UV) light robot to disinfect the facility.
The hospital is using UV light instead of hydrogen peroxide, because it cuts cleaning time down from hours to five or ten minutes.
"For disease prevention, robot-controlled non-contact UV surface disinfection has already been used because Covid-19 spreads not only from person to person via close contact respiratory droplet transfer but also via contaminated surfaces," said the researchers.
"Opportunities lie in intelligent navigation and detection of high-risk, high-touch areas, combined with other preventative measures," they noted. Writing in the Science Robotics journal, the scientists explained that robots can be used for clinical care such as telemedicine and decontamination.
The researchers said the robots can also be used in logistics such as delivery as well as handling of contaminated waste and also reconnaissance, including monitoring compliance of voluntary quarantines.
The researchers particularly highlighted the role that robots can play in disinfection, cleaning and telepresence.
They said new generations of large, small, micro, and swarm robots that are able to continuously work and clean could be developed.
In terms of telepresence, the deployment of social robots can present unique opportunities for continued social interactions and adherence to treatment regimes without fear of spreading more disease, they said.
"Covid-19 may become the tipping point of how future organisations operate," the researchers explained.
"Rather than cancelling large international exhibitions and conferences, new forms of gathering -- virtual rather than in-person attendance -- may increase," they said.
Covid-19: Ann Sullivan, John Prine & Other Icons The World Lost
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The Covid-19 outbreak has changed our world and turned it upside down. Life as we know it, might never be the same again and needless to say, the effects of this pandemic will be felt for decades to come.
Not to say that some lives matter more than others, but the outbreak took away some of our beloved icons, trailblazers and trendsetters who had achieved tremendous success in their lifetime and were gone too soon.
Here are a few who lost the battle to Covid-19.
The Covid-19 outbreak has changed our world and turned it upside down. Life as we know it, might never be the same again and needless to say, the effects of this pandemic will be felt for decades to ..
Read More
Veteran animator Ann Sullivan, who worked on Disney classics such as 'The Little Mermaid' and 'The Lion King', died from complications due to the coronavirus on April 16 at the age of 91.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Sullivan's retirement community, the Woodland Hills-based campus of the Motion Picture and Television Fund (MPTF), confirmed the news of her death.
Sullivan left her job to raise four children, but she re-entered the business in 1973, when she started at Filmnation and Hanna Barbera.
(With inputs from PTI)
Veteran animator Ann Sullivan, who worked on Disney classics such as 'The Little Mermaid' and 'The Lion King', died from complications due to the coronavirus on April 16 at the age of 91.According to..
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Former Pakistani first-class cricketer Zafar Sarfraz became the first professional player in the country to die after contracting the novel coronavirus on April 14. The 50-year-old first fell ill in April and was put on a ventilator at a hospital in Peshawar after his condition deteriorated.
"Sarfraz was healthy and lively but some 10 days ago he developed symptoms of the coronavirus and did not survive," said a family member who spoke to AFP.
Sarfraz, a middle-order batsman, played 15 first-class games in Peshawar and retired in 1994
(With inputs from AFP)
Former Pakistani first-class cricketer Zafar Sarfraz became the first professional player in the country to die after contracting the novel coronavirus on April 14. The 50-year-old first fell ill in ..
Read More
Actor Allen Garfield, best known for his roles in films such as 'Nashville' and 'The Stunt Man', died of the coronavirus on April 9 at the age of 80.
Garfield's 'Nashville' co-star Ronee Blakely shared the news of his death in a Facebook post on Tuesday.
"RIP Allen Garfield, the great actor who played my husband in 'Nashville', has died today of Covid; I hang my head in tears; condolences to family and friends; I will post more later; cast and crew, sending love," Blakely wrote.
(With inputs from PTI)
Actor Allen Garfield, best known for his roles in films such as 'Nashville' and 'The Stunt Man', died of the coronavirus on April 9 at the age of 80. Garfield's 'Nashville' co-star Ronee Blakely shar..
Read More
John Prine, an American folk legend widely considered one of his generation's most influential songwriters, died following complications of coronavirus on April 8 at the age of 73.
On April 3 Prine's wife Fiona had posted on social media the beloved country and folk star was on his eighth day in the ICU on a ventilator, and had pneumonia in both lungs.
Once dubbed the "Mark Twain of American songwriting," over his five decades in the music business Prine carved an image as an off-the-cuff wordsmith who forged melancholy tales with a dose of surrealist wit.
(With inputs from AFP)
John Prine, an American folk legend widely considered one of his generation's most influential songwriters, died following complications of coronavirus on April 8 at the age of 73.On April 3 Prine's ..
Read More
Actor Lee Fierro, best known for playing Mrs Kintner in Steven Spielberg's ‘Jaws’, died of complications due to coronavirus.
The actor had moved from her home on Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts, where ‘Jaws’ was filmed, and was living in Ohio at an assisted-living facility.
Fierro is survived by her five children, seven grand-children and seven great-grandchildren
(With inputs from PTI)
Actor Lee Fierro, best known for playing Mrs Kintner in Steven Spielberg's ‘Jaws’, died of complications due to coronavirus.The actor had moved from her home on Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts, wher..
Read More
Patricia Bosworth, an actress who once starred alongside Audrey Hepburn and later wrote biographies on several stars including Marlon Brando and Montgomery Clift, died due to the coronavirus on Sunday. She was 86.
Bosworth's stepdaughter, Fia Hatsav, told The New York Times that pneumonia brought on by the virus was the cause of death.
(With inputs from PTI)
Patricia Bosworth, an actress who once starred alongside Audrey Hepburn and later wrote biographies on several stars including Marlon Brando and Montgomery Clift, died due to the coronavirus on Sunda..
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Celebrated Italian shoe designer Sergio Rossi died at the age of 84 from complications over novel coronavirus on Saturday.
The shoemaker died on Thursday in Italy's Cesena, a city in Emilia-Romagna, one of the regions hardest hit by the coronavirus pandemic.
Riccardo Sciutto, CEO of the Sergio Rossi Group, shared the news of the designer's demise on Instagram.
(With inputs from PTI)
Celebrated Italian shoe designer Sergio Rossi died at the age of 84 from complications over novel coronavirus on Saturday.The shoemaker died on Thursday in Italy's Cesena, a city in Emilia-Romagna, o..
Read More
Bill Withers, the legendary performer who defined 1970s soul with timeless hits like "Ain't No Sunshine" and "Lean on Me" died on Friday , his family said in a statement. He was 81 years old.
The Grammy-winning artist succumbed to heart complications, according to his family, which said it was "devastated" over the loss.
"A solitary man with a heart driven to connect to the world at large, with his poetry and music, he spoke honestly to people and connected them to each other," they said.
(With inputs from AFP)
Bill Withers, the legendary performer who defined 1970s soul with timeless hits like "Ain't No Sunshine" and "Lean on Me" died on Friday , his family said in a statement. He was 81 years old.The Gram..
Read More
Ellis Marsalis Jr., the jazz pianist, teacher and patriarch of a New Orleans musical clan, died late Wednesday after battling pneumonia brought on by the new coronavirus, leaving six sons and a deep legacy. He was 85.
"Pneumonia was the actual thing that caused his demise. But it was pneumonia brought on by Covid-19," Ellis Marsalis III confirmed in an Associated Press phone interview. Four of the jazz patriarch's six sons are musicians: Wynton, trumpeter, is America's most prominent jazz spokesman as artistic director of jazz at New York's Lincoln Center.
(With inputs from AP)
Ellis Marsalis Jr., the jazz pianist, teacher and patriarch of a New Orleans musical clan, died late Wednesday after battling pneumonia brought on by the new coronavirus, leaving six sons and a deep ..
