Indian Innovators Develop Three Different Robots To Assist Healthcare Workers, Patients Amid COVID

A group of innovators from Mumbai has invented three different robots that can not only assist with providing care to COVID patients in hospitals but also reduce physical contact and the risk of the medical staff contracting the infection.

Innovator Santosh Hulawale, who has designed 48 robots over his 20-year career, brainstormed on the idea of inventing robots that can reduce the workload of healthcare workers.

With a team of eight other innovators, Hulawale invented a Multiple Service Robot (MSR), a Service Humanoid Robot (SHR), and a Disaster Management robot (DMR) to assist healthcare workers in providing proper care to the patients in the hospital.

While the ‘Multiple Service Robot’ can be custom pre-programmed for any kind of health facility, the ‘Service Humanoid Robot’ can be used to give a more human-like experience to the patients.

"Apart from delivering food, water and medicine, SHR can also interact with patients not only vocally but also physically. The robot can dance, shake hands, give a high-five, wave goodbye and can help in entertaining the people in quarantine," Hulawale told the Indian news agency ANI.

With the ability to carry up to 200 kg, the third ‘Disaster Management Robot’, Hulawale added, “Can carry patients from ambulances to the hospitals or quarantine centres and back, and those with physical disabilities to the restroom and back."

In past year, several other innovators from India have launched different robots for contact-less communication and to assist healthcare workers in the treatment of COVID patients in the hospital.