April 08, 2020 | 20:02 (GMT+7)
Vietnam to use home-made robot to provide medical assistance for people in quarantine areas
PANO - The Military Technical Academy (MTA) has just studied and manufactured an autonomous robot named Vibot-1a with the functions similar to TUG of Aethon of the U.S. The robot is made to operate in high-risk quarantine areas in replacement of medical workers.
|
|
Vibot-1a can carry different types of goods with loads up to 100kg. |
Having completed all the tests in Bac Thang Long Hospital in Hanoi, the robot now can be put in real operation. According to Major General Nguyen Lac Hong, Deputy Director of the MTA, each Vibot-1a is expected to replace the workload of three to five medical workers. He said that it not only reduces work for medical personnel, but also helps prevent cross infection and other risks caused by the COVID-19.
The robot is tasked with delivering food, medicine and necessities, moving garbage outside, and helping communicate between doctors and patients. It can carry different types of goods with loads up to 100kg. Its operation is monitored by a control center.
With many installed sensors on its front and back, Vibot-1a is able to detect objects and avoid collision. The robot can continuously operate 12 hours and automatically return to a charging station when it runs out of power. It can also play music or deliver voice messages such as “Please get out of the way,” “Thank you,” or “Goodbye.” Notably, doctors can communicate with patients through a special system with high definition cameras installed on the robot.
General Hong shared that the studying group will continue to upgrade the robot so that it can work fully automatically as a smart robot in the time to come.
Meanwhile, Prof., Dr. Nguyen Van Kinh, Chairman of the Vietnam Association of Infection Diseases, noted that the robot effectively serves the COVID-19 prevention while proving the capabilities of Vietnamese scientists and engineers.
Translated by Trung Thanh