Nigerian students design robot to treat COVID-19 patients remotely

The robot is a remote-controlled cabinet with wheels, adorned with a floral design and nicknamed "MAIROBOT".

In a demonstration, a nurse practitioner loaded MAIROBOT with medicines and a student, using a controller and goggles to see through a camera, moved the machine down a corridor and into a simulated isolation room to scan a student's forehead and check her temperature.

"I hope MAIROBOT can reduce the risk for healthcare personnel; I want healthcare workers to be safer "said Nabila Abbas one of the creators of the robot.

The robotics team from the Glisten International Academy in the capital of Nigeria, Abuja, began to build MAIROBOT collaborating online, but finally had to meet to finish the project in their laboratory.

But MAIROBOT, which was with struded in about three months, it is still in an early stage. During the demonstration, the door to the isolation room had to be left open, and it can only carry medications, so patients should self-administer medications while a nurse monitors the chamber.

"We are working on perfecting it" said David Adeniyi the professor who oversees the robotics team, who says students hope that MAIROBOT will be commercially available one day.