COVID-19: drive technology and physical distancing
The sanitary crisis linked to the diffusion of Covid-19 requires everyone to apply measures of social distancing. Motorized and automated solutions are being developed at high speed as a solution. This article gives an overview of innovations that reinvent human interactions without dehumanizing them.
The sanitary crisis linked to the diffusion of Covid-19 requires
everyone to apply measures of social distancing. Motorized and automated
solutions are being developed at high speed as a solution. This article gives
an overview of innovations that reinvent human interactions without
dehumanizing them.
Delivery and logistics robots
To decrease the risk of
contamination, the demand for non-contact deliveries has increased sharply, all
over the world. To allow stores to remain open, without customers having to
move around or exposing a delivery person, Starship Technologies has deployed a
fleet of delivery robots. Like a mini icebox mounted on six wheels, this
compact robot travels the streets autonomously to deliver food and other
essentials. Equipped with sensors, a camera and high-performance motors, it
avoids obstacles to carry out its mission. Once it reaches its destination, it
can be unlocked via an app to retrieve the order. For automated guided vehicle
(AGV) applications such as these, maxon compact drives are a great fit. The
maxon EC Flat and EC Frameless DC motors, and also maxon motors with integrated IDX electronics are popular with this type of
application.
In
other cities, robots such as Colossus, from the French company Shark Robotics,
apply a hydroalcoholic gel to disinfect roads and public places. Built with
maxon DC motors, this robot operates in hostile environments and high-risk
situations. Colossus also worked alongside the firefighters at the Notre Dame
fire.
Delivery of medicines by drone has
also been used in the United States as it minimizes contact. Currently, the
products delivered may not exceed a certain weight and deliveries are limited
to a defined perimeter. Delivery by drone is also subject to numerous
regulations.
maxon
has developed a new range of products specially designed for UAVs that comply
with the most stringent safety standards in force and whose energy consumption
is kept to a strict minimum for higher overall efficiency and therefore longer
flight time.
Assistance and companion robots
In
several cities around the world, friendly-looking "humanoid" robots
are deployed to help the elderly and sick. At the Circolo Hospital in Italy,
a wheeled robot goes to the bedside of Covid-19 patients to collect information
on their state of health. In India, the robots were responsible for bringing
medicines and food to the patients directly to their rooms. In Japan, the
robot, Pepper, welcomed and ensured the comfort of patients with mild symptoms
that were confined to a hotel. Never tired, impossible to contaminate and free
from wearing protective equipment, the robots proved particularly useful in the
hospital environment.
Designed in France before being acquired by Softbank, Pepper is
equipped with a microphone, a screen and uses a tele-presence application to
allow patients to communicate with their relatives without risk of
contamination. Equipped with maxon motors in the fingers and wheels, this
humanoid robot, designed with a friendly face, has also been tested at the
Pitié-Salpêtrière hospital in Paris. Pepper, controlled remotely, was first
used in the intensive care unit before being redeployed to the hospital
reception desk. Now the robot informs the public about safety rules and also
offers relaxation exercises to hospital staff.
Such
assistance solutions can also be used in stores to guide customers: an operator
controls the robot remotely and communicates by video.
Because
they allow contact with the outside world without exposure, companion robots
have also proved their worth in institutions for the elderly. A start-up in northern
France (Roubaix) has made about twenty of its companion robots, Cutii,
available free of charge. Cutii provides various activities to residents while
allowing them to make video calls with their loved ones on its screen. The
robots offer gentle gymnastics, stories, history information and a zero-waste
workshop.
Published by maxon on Aug 21, 2020
