Robots to Greet, Triage Incoming Coronavirus Patients

Because of the COVID 19 situation, clinical facilities are currently faced with the issue of trying to keep interactions between potential patients and staff at a minimum. Face masks and other precautions help, but modern technology is allowing some tasks to be completely performed without human staff.

Wegree, a company based in Poland, makes humanoid robots that are typically designed to greet people at stores, malls, and other consumer-facing businesses, and to answer their questions. Now, Wegree has adapted its robots to serve as check-in staff for hospitals and clinics, alleviating the need for humans to interact with potentially infected individuals.

The robots can greet those presenting with symptoms, guide them to sanitize their hands and put on a face mask, and ask relevant questions that can be used to triage those that should receive medical attention.

Although humanoid robots certainly help many to have a more “personal” experience, Wegree is making its technology available for use on all kinds of touchscreen tablet devices that are readily available and can be employed quickly by in-clinic IT staff to provide greeting and triage capabilities.

Here’s an example of the robot in action:

source