COVID-19 patients from India have a new friend
In India, robots are joining the medical staff to assist patients, which means this shift to robotics and automation may aid India in its fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. Learn more with our blog!
India now has more than 8 million COVID-19 cases and more than 120,000 deaths (the world’s second-highest). Struggling to cope, a handful of hospitals started using robots to connect patients with their loved ones and assist healthcare workers.
The Switch to Automation
Successful robotics startups have boomed, and according to the latest report by the International Federation of Robotics (IFR), India is now among the top 10 countries for annual installations of robots in industries. From hospitality to medication, a range of sectors are adopting automation to reduce costs and time or to achieve precision, and, in some cases, save lives.
In the healthcare industry, robots are useful in carrying out tasks ranging from disinfecting surfaces to answering patient questions and enabling video consultations with doctors.
One of the most popular models was deployed by the Bangalore-based company Invento. Using facial recognition technology, Mitra, which means “friend” in Hindi, can recall the names and faces of patients it has interacted with.
"Mitra can be the nurse's or doctor's assistant, take readings and vitals, remind them of medications," says Balaji Viswanathan, CEO of Invento Robotics.
The humanoid friend can roam around a hospital independently, helping patients connect with family and doctors via cameras and a video screen attached to its chest.
India still only has about three robots for every 10,000 workers, but the domestic industry is growing rapidly, fueled in no small part by the pandemic.
India Companies Are Adapting New Functions
Among the firms switching to automation, Milagrow Robotics has deployed five humanoid cleaning robots to Indian hospitals during the pandemic, while Kerala-based Asimov Robotics has created a robot to dispense medicine and clean up for patients.
Another company named Genrobotics from the southern state of Kerala has also collaborated with local authorities to adapt its spider-shaped robot Bandicoot to clean sewers and manholes, which until then had been under a lousy manual cleaning.
However, even though humanoids are being introduced in Indian hospitals, doctors and staff are reluctant to use such technology and monitor the robots, while the poor wifi connection in many places may make people go back to their old ways of doing things.
Even though scaling up remains a challenge, the automation trend appears to be here to stay for the time being.
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