Medical assistant robot for fighting the spread of Covid-19

Inspiration

We already had a plan for the medical assistant robot as soon as we found out that there is a state of emergency in Romania, and now we made a new second version, improving all the systems and adding a new generation of live audio-video streaming for both the medical personnel and the patients.

What it does

In order to build/create an indirect contact between the diseased people and the medical staff, contact that could prevent them from getting infected, we thought it can be very helpful to build the medical assistant robot. We designed it to be remotely controlled via WiFi network or Internet with the help of modern communication devices that support Internet Browsers such as: tablets, smartphones (iPhone / Android Phone) or PC. The robot can transmit live videos and audio streams without delay to the doctor and he can talk to the patient in order to give valuable indications from another room or distance to keep him safe and away from getting infected with the virus.

How I built it

We started with the base robot, that we already did one month ago when we heard about this virus and we updated all the features. The base of the robot is built from robust tetrix channels that we use for our First Tech Challenge competition robots. The first version of the robot had electronics from modern robotics: a motor controller and a Core Power Interface. We used two android phone with special designed applications for the robot controller and for the driver station to control the robot. We also 3D printed some parts that we managed to create using PC Solidworks design software. We use a LCD with a face animation and also a special designed Raspberry Pi.

Challenges I ran into

Our vision for this project is to help provide lifesaving innovative solutions to meet the challenging circumstances of the current crisis generated by CoronaVirus. It can help medical staff safely meet social distancing rules and limit close contact with coronavirus patients without compromising on the quality of care available to patients. In order to find a solution for the crisis generated by this virus, we first had to choose the problem that we thought is the most tangible for us. The biggest issue that came in our minds, and the reason that we are all stuck inside, is the fact that this virus is very spreadable and that just a little contact, like a hand shake or a hug can transmit the virus from a healthy carrier to a lot of other people that can be much more affected. The biggest problem is that we have to disinfect it after every patient so it is all clean and sterilise. We also had some software problems while programming in python and also for creating SSL certificates for the webpage for controlling the robot.

Accomplishments that I'm proud of

We are proud to say that after a lot of research we found a way to make the audio-stream live to work flawlessly , without delay, working from both the side of the medic and the patient. Also we are very proud to make it not dependable on the type of device used, because you can control the robot from any device with internet access and any browser.

What I learned

During this weekend we have learned that it is way more difficult to make and program a robot in such a short period of time and that, even though you have an idea, you have to research a lot of subjects and actually learn a lot of things before applying it. We have also learned that all the hard work and research from the past have helped us to tackle a real life problem with a very innovative solution.

What's next for Medical assistant robot for fighting the spread of Covid-19

The solution that we came up with is a way to stop the direct contact between the medical personnel and the patients, in order to prevent the spreading of the virus in the hospitals/ medical system. If we keep the medical stuff healthy and away from getting the virus, they can help the patients recover more easily and eradicate the virus forever. If our project is considered successful by the EUvsVirus Hackathon committee, we would like to make use of the publicity and push forward our idea into the mainstream media in order to raise funds to build more robots and donate them to hospitals in Romania and Europe. We also plan to continue this project and transform it into a research project for the summer period for our robotics team AutoVortex. We want to implement AI, we want to make it partially autonomous and also further improve and expand its functionality.

Thank you!