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Robots have always been our best helping hand. Be it in mass packaging assembly line or rover on Mars, robots have helped us leap of faith in the technological advancements. They can work in environments or job line that is deemed hostile or beyond the basic scope of humans. In the field of healthcare especially at the time of the current pandemic, robots have successfully carried health samples, distributed ration, test kit, sprayed disinfectant, surveyed public, etc. all of which are best examples other than the common surgical robots. While the COVID-19 has drawn attention to the scarcity of medical staff, it has also highlighted the growing importance of non-surgical robots that relieved this stress and saved lives.

Let us look at some of the exemplar ones in this discipline.

In July 2019, Swiss-Swedish multinational ABB Robotics announced to introduce collaborative robots to medical laboratories at its first global healthcare hub at the Texas Medical Center (TMC) innovation campus in Houston, Texas. This research facility comprises of an automation laboratory and robot training facilities. Plus it has areas to carry out co-developing solutions with innovation partners. Here they develop nonsurgical medical robotics systems, including logistics and next-generation automated laboratory technologies. ABB's collaborative robots, already have quite a reputation in worldwide food and beverage laboratories. They also are befitting in medical facilities as they don't require any safety boundaries to operate safely and efficiently alongside people. These include a range of monotonous, sensitive and time-consuming activities like dosing, mixing and pipetting tasks (e.g.  IRB 1200 6-axis articulated arm robot). And sterile instrument kitting and centrifuge loading and unloading like IRB 14050 single-arm YuMi robot.

The dual-arm mobile YuMi robot can move their way around people using attached sensors. Its' function includes the likes of IRB 1200 and a single-arm YuMi robot. Additionally, it can deploy medicines, bed linens to patients, etc. all while remembering the routes it undertakes to travel.

Last week, Nanyang Technological University (NTU) in Singapore announced public trials for a semi-autonomous robot called eXtreme Disinfection roBOT or XDBOT. This six-axis 30m arm containing wheeled robot was being developed from February to address the concern for sterilizing public spaces in the wake of COVID-19. It has an electrostatic-charged nozzle that discharges chemicals with a positive electrical charge over the negatively-charged surfaces. This is to ensure a wider and farther spread of disinfectant behind and over surfaces while being an efficient method to disinfect, unlike traditional pressure-spray nozzle. It can house a range of disinfectants in its 8.5l tank and navigates using HD cameras equipped with lidar sensors.

Meanwhile, Denmark-based Blue Ocean Robotics is busy manufacturing autonomous mobile robot that can enter a room and disinfect it with UV-C light, without exposing medical co-workers to potentially harmful radiation. It has already shipped 2,000 units of its UVD Robots Aps to China to combat the crisis there. KOMPAÏ Robotics of France recently revealed a robot that can help in assisting in hospitals and nursing homes. Similar to this is EksoNR by Esko Bionics. This neuro-habilitating exoskeleton is aimed at helping patients recovering from a stroke or other conditions learn to walk again with a more natural gait. EksoNR is equipped with EksoView, a new touchscreen controller that lets therapists intuitively adapt assistance to challenge patients by using real-time feedback and perform outcome measures during use. The exercises consist of gait training, including balancing, squatting from a sit-to-stand position, lifting one leg, or standing in place. Another significant innovation is the PARO Therapeutic Robot. These robots look like a baby harbor seal and act as stress relieving animal therapist for people struggling with stress and anxiety.

Then we have Geneva, Switzerland-based Andrew Alliance S.A. which is set out to revolutionize the life sciences field. Their Andrew+ nonsurgical robot can help carry out repetitive manual experiments and tasks. This compact, 20-lb. liquid handler can accurately measure and test liquids and conduct pipetting activities. It is controlled by state-of-the-art, browser-based software called OneLab. It can host eight- and 12-channel pipettes and is currently being used at molecular biology, immunotherapy, and diagnostics sectors. This time-saving robots currently serves 18 of the top 20 pharmaceutical companies, the top four diagnostic companies, and 16 of the top 20 global academic research institutions.