In Egypt, an inventor is trialling a remote control robot that can test for coronavirus and tell patients off for not wearing face masks.
Mahmoud el-Komy, who designed the robot, says it can help limit exposure to infection and prevent the transmission of the virus.
His creation, called Cira-03, has a human-like face and head and robotic arms with which it can check temperatures, take blood tests, perform echocardiograms and X-rays, and display the results to patients on a screen attached to its chest.
Reuters quoted him as saying:
I tried to make the robot seem more human, so that the patient doesn’t fear it. So they don’t feel like a box is walking in on them. There has been a positive response from patients. They saw the robot and weren’t afraid. On the contrary, there is more trust in this because the robot is more precise than humans.
Cira-03 tests a patient for coronavirus by cupping their chin and then extending an arm with a swab into their mouth.
Abu Bakr El-Mihi, head of a private hospital where the robot is being tested, said they were using the robot to take the temperature of anyone suspected of having Covid-19.
