Robots have been around in the world for quite some time now. They have been helping humans in various ways. Currently, they are helping us to combat the COVID-19 pandemic.
In India as well as around the world, several tests have been conducted on humanoid robots to see if they can be helpful in the fight against COVID-19. IIM Trichy in India has developed a set of robots to help in the hospitals.
How do the robots help us?
The doctors and nurses are at the highest risk of contracting the virus because they work closest to the COVID-19 patients. In India, there is a rise in the cases of the doctors and the nurses contracting the corona virus disease. The less number of doctors and nurses increases the pressure on the medical services to treat the patients.
The robots are machines, hence they aren’t at a risk on contracting any human disease. In fact, Thailand has developed ‘ninja robots which can help to check the temperature of the patients and carry over medicines. They are further developing the robots to enable them to deliver food and conduct basic tasks as well.
“As epidemics escalate, the potential roles of robotics are becoming increasingly clear,” an international group of researchers quoted last month in the Science Robotics journal.
How have the robots aided so far?
The robots disinfect the corridors. They help to deliver warnings and administer primary tests to detect the novel corona virus. They run on batteries, so they don’t need sleep to charge! They don’t need to wear protection suits when attending a patient either.
The robots lessen the risk of the doctors and nurses coming in close contact with the corona virus patients. They easily carry out the basic tasks so that the medical staff can focus on the serious cases and work on the vaccine to cure the infected patients.