An incubatee start-up based at the Indian Institute of Management, Kozhikode, (IIM-K), has developed a functional prototype of a robotic swab sample collection arm that can be remotely controlled for safe and speedy swab sample collection.
The start-up ispAgro specialises in drone and robotics technology and is one of the start-ups mentored by the IIM-K’s business incubator and entrepreneurship development centre LIVE, a statement on Tuesday said.
Collaborative move
The start-up, seed-funded by a collaborative initiative between the IIM-K LIVE and Mangalore Refineries and Petrochemicals Limited, developed the robot to replace the manual swab collection process and thereby reduce the COVID-19 threat to front-line health workers involved in sample collection.
The robot, armed with a 180-degree-rotation gripper, is extendable up to one metre in length. With an android app, a technician can easily operate it and regulate its movement behind a safe physical barrier.
Indigenous talent
Professor Debashis Chatterjee, Director, IIM-K, said the resolve shown by this start-up to come up with this robotic intervention in a short time spoke volumes about how indigenous talent nurtured in a cultivable, creative environment could lead the way in an hour of crisis.
Adapting to the emergent situation is also a key trait that would hold a start up in good stead not only for its commercial success but also for its role in greater societal good.
Avinash Rao, founder – ispAgro Robotics, said the company was planning to enhance the prototype by including Artificial Intelligence-based operator-less control so that the robot could be deployed at the level of primary health centres (PHCs).
Camera and Infrared integration for better and faster sampling, microphone and speaker integration for two-way communication are also on the cards in addition to an automatic sanitation unit for its arm grippers to ensure complete safety of the person whose sample is being collected.
