Odisha Fights Corona: ITI Cuttack Develops Robots To Work As Healthcare Workers

Cuttack: The Industrial Training Institute (ITI), Cuttack in association with Sak Robotix, an Odisha based start-up has developed two robots that are capable of performing tasks like that of a healthcare worker.

The two robots, Cobot (a service robot) and Nigabot (a robot for telepresence surveillance) will reduce the risk of virus transmission in healthcare workers while attending infected patients. With more robots, the use of PPE kits will also reduce significantly.

Having programmed with navigation and wireless technology, the robots can work autonomously in a given hospital ward. “The mobility of the robots is ensured through wheels. In COVID-19 hospitals, the robots can hold a tray and carry food, water, and medicine to and fro from patients. They can carry up to 20 kg of load,” said founder and CEO of Sak Robotix, Sakyasingha Mahapatra.

Besides the service part, the Nigabot bridges the communication gap and helps doctors interact with the patients through live-video streaming, thereby reducing their frequent rounds to patients.

In-line with the vision of Skilled in Odisha, these robots mark the beginning of Industry 4.0 and could help the country to fight the battle of COVID-19, said the Principal of ITI Cuttack, Rishikesh Mohanty.