Robots are expected to demonstrate their value for “dirty and dangerous” medical tasks in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic, researchers said Wednesday. An editorial in Science Robotics noted that robots can help with telemedicine, decontamination, hazardous waste treatment, and monitoring compliance with voluntary quarantines.
“ Historically, robots have been developed to take on boring, dirty and dangerous jobs, ” the researchers wrote. “As epidemics escalate, the potential roles of robotics become more apparent.” Some robots are already in use during the pandemic. Thai hospitals have & # 39; ninja robots & # 39; used to measure fever and protect the health of congested medical workers, and robots in Denmark use ultraviolet light to disinfect frequently touched surfaces.
Although robots have been used in disasters and some medical applications for years, the pandemic has emphasized the need to expand their role, scientists said. & # 39; Why do we still expose primary care practitioners to the pathogen? & # 39; Journal editor Guang-Zhong Yang, dean of Shanghai Jiao Tong University’s Institute of Medical Robotics, told reporters during a conference call.
& # 39; Robots are here to take away some of those risks from our people. & # 39; Robots should also be used for infection control, handling intensive care patients, and administering medication and food, according to the editorial co-author of researchers, including Howie Choset of Carnegie Mellon University and Marcia McNutt, president of the National Academy of Science # “COVID-19 could become the turning point of how future organizations work,” the authors wrote.
“New generations of large, small, micro and swarm robots could be developed that can operate and clean continuously (i.e. not only remove dust but really clean / sterilize all surfaces).” In terms of telepresence, the researcher wrote that it was “a challenging area of development because social interactions require building and maintaining complex models of people, including their knowledge, beliefs, emotions.”
(This story has not been edited by staff and is automatically generated from a syndicated feed.)
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