A team of researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Ropar in Punjab’s Rupnagar district has come up with a design of an autonomous ‘WardBot’ which can deliver medicines and food to COVID-19 patients in isolation wards without human intervention.
Key Points:
i.The WardBot was developed under the guidance of EktaSingla, Associate Professor and Head, Department of Mechanical Engineering, IIT Ropar.
ii.The deployment of WardBot in hospitals helps in minimising the risk of the frontline health staff getting infected with the deadly virus (COVID-19).
iii.About WardBot: The Ward bot is fitted with sensors, can work on a known path and can carry food items and medicines, necessary equipment for delivery to patients at different beds from one room to the other from the remotely located control room.
iv.The control room can instruct multiple bots to accomplish tasks simultaneously on different floors.
v.The WardBot uses simple gesture sensors for a quarantined person to wave a bye to the robot, as an indication of receiving the material. Patients will get intimation through bed IDs being displayed on small LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) units.
vi.Other Features: WardBot also has a feature of self-sanitising on the return path and could be used for sanitising walls of the hospital and can also work in low-light conditions.
About IIT-Ropar:
Motto– Deploy our intellect on the right path
Director– Sarit Kumar Das.
