Diesel Loco Shed Visakhapatnam develops a robot to assist hospital staff

In the light of the COVID-19 pandemic, various innovations were taken up by the Diesel Loco Shed Visakhapatnam to combat the spread of the coronavirus infection. In the latest, the DLS, Visakhapatnam fabricated a robot, named as MeD ROBO to assist the management of medical wards in serving medicines, food to patients, and towards patient care.

The fabrication of the robot was carried out using a remote-controlled driving unit, stainless sheet, rod, square bars, and acrylic sheet for body and trays. A night vision Camera (2 MP HD) with a speaker facility for interactive purpose with data card facility to from monitor any place, along with a circuit for a sensor-based hand sanitizer unit, and 1 KVA backup power for driving motor and camera have been assembled together to develop the MeD ROBO.

This robot was fabricated at Diesel Loco Shed, Visakhapatnam under the guidance of Chetan Kumar Shrivastava, Divisional Railway Manager, Waltair, and under the direct supervision of Santosh Kumar Patro, Sr. Divisional Mechanical Engineer (Diesel). Operated through a unique mobile application, the MeD ROBO has been developed as part of the innovation, supported by the WiFi facility. It supports sensor-based features, which are capable to read patients’ body temperature and transmit the same for display on the mobile phone. In case of noticing abnormal high-temperature reading, the MeD Robot is capable of raising an alarm, thereby alerting the hospital staff.

The other unique features of the robot include a remote control drive unit for movement in all directions by monitoring physically or from mobile or desktop, a sensor-based hand sanitizer unit, a device for communication between patient and doctor/nursing staff, and two stainless steel trays for distributing medicines and food. Before being deployed for use, the MeD ROBO underwent extensive trials and demonstrations. Currently, the robot is offering services at the Divisional Railway Hospital, Visakhapatnam.