Innovation in times of coronavirus: Robot dispenses sanitiser at Bulandshahr collectorate

Desperate times need desperate measures. Or so they say.

A bright red robot at the district collectorate in Bulandshahr is helping people minimise spread of coronavirus by dispensing sanitiser to staff and visitors. Fitted with sensors, the robot detects human presence and dispenses sanitiser.

Such robots will additionally soon be deployed in hospitals in the district for giving food, water and medicines to patients to help reduce contact between healthcare workers and positive cases.

"We have deployed a robot, made by local engineering students, at COVID-19 control room at the collectorate. The robot is used for giving sanitisers to employees and visitors, thereby avoiding human involvement in the job," District Magistrate, Bulandshahr Ravindra Kumar told PTI.

The robot can work for one to one-and-a-half hours at a stretch after which its battery needs to be recharged. As of now, it will dispense only sanitiser.

The credit for the robot goes to local techies -- Nishant Sharma and Atul Kumar -- both pursuing engineering courses at separate private institutions in Noida.

The robot has a display and speaker through which it can give instructions to patients and display the fed message or slogans. It is controlled through a mobile application.

Till Sunday, Bulandshahr district had reported 15 coronavirus cases of whom two were discharged while one COVID-19 positive patient died.