Developing a Mobile Automated Medical Assistant for Hospitals in Bangladesh

Abstract

This paper introduces a mobile robot that is designed to assist medical professionals in hospitals with daily simple tasks which allow the staff in turn to optimize their resources. A prototype of this robot was deployed at the Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University in Bangladesh with funding from the Government of Bangladesh, USAID and UNDP. This robot performed its functions as an Automated Medical Assistant (AMA) by delivering to and interacting with patients and medical staff during its trial phase in 2018. This paper presents the robot to have an intuitive user interface, a user-friendly mode of communication, smart features in its command-and-control system, security, and energy optimization. The smart robot is able to navigate its way to specific patients as well as avoid obstacles and finally navigate back to its charging station once its energy is depleted.