Rwanda has enlisted anti-epidemic robots in its fight against coronavirus
The robots — named Akazuba, Ikirezi, Mwiza, Ngabo, and Urumuri — were received by the country’s Minister of Health and Minister of ICT and Innovation last week.
Keeping healthworkers safe
The robots perform a number of tasks relating to managing coronavirus. They can screen up to 150 people every minute for symptoms of the virus such as high temperature and dry cough.
According to Dr. Daniel Ngamije, Rwanda’s minister of health, they also have the capacity to capture sound and visual data of patients and can notify health workers on detected abnormalities.
The robots have the capacity to deliver medicine, food, and other essentials in place of frontline workers to Covid-19 patients undergoing treatment, Ngamije said.
Robotics engineers from the UNDP will train staff of the Rwandan Ministry of health on how to use the robots so they can put them to work.
Robots fighting Covid-19
Rwanda is not the first country to use robots in managing the spread of coronavirus.
They were controlled by officers who checked the ID of residents found wandering through the robot’s camera.
