Hospitals want to reduce the risk of staff being infected by COVID-19. The Robot Spot contributes to this. Thanks to him, healthcare personnel do not have to be in the same room as patients when it is to be decided if there is an infection.
Brigham and Women’s Hospital in the United States rented Spot in early April and is now evaluating how the puppy does the job as a walking aid to doctors and nurses. A first conclusion is that there is a smaller number of staff in the phase where it is necessary to determine if COVID-19 infection is present. They also save on valuable protective equipment.
Spot has taken place in a tent outside the hospital building , where it takes the temperature of patients. With a mounted iPad as the head, the healthcare staff can both see and talk to patients to be examined. The robot’s ability to avoid obstacles and step over thresholds makes it suitable for further development for remote controlled use in healthcare.
Boston Dynamics robots have raised many eyebrows when shown in various clips – not least Atlas, when it does gymnastics . The four-legged sequel, Spot, was released with great attention at the end of last year. Boston Dynamics is now encouraging users and developers to find new uses for the platform – both inside and outside healthcare.
Boston Dynamics shares all documentation on both hardware and software to speed up development work around Spot. Thus, developers of other hardware can also benefit from the work done.
In the future, a developed Spot will measure parameters such as heart rate, oxygenation and breathing frequency in patients. The trainee may get permanent employment?
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Sources: Wired; Verve
Tips: Thomas Wahlgren