Robot dispenses sanitiser at Bulandshahr collectorate

A bright red robot at the district collectorate here is helping people maintain social distancing and minimise spread of coronavirus by dispensing sanitiser to staff and visitors.

Fitted with sensors, the robot detects human presence and dispenses sanitiser.

Such robots will soon be deployed in hospitals in the district for giving food, water and medicines to patients to help reduce contact between healthcare workers and positive cases.

"We have deployed a robot, made by local engineering students, at COVID-19 control room at the collectorate. The robot is used for giving sanitisers to employees and visitors, thereby avoiding human involvement in the job," District Magistrate, Bulandshahr Ravindra Kumar told PTI.

The robot, which has the capability to walk, can work for one to one-and-a-half hours at a stretch after which its battery needs to be recharged. As of now, it will dispense only sanitiser.

"Presently, we have only one robot. But, we are facilitating the makers to buy spare parts so that they can deliver two more. Very soon, we will be using services of robots for giving food, water and medicines to patients in hospitals," the DM said.

These robots will not only help doctors and staff but also prevent them from direct contact, thus avoiding infections, he stressed.

He said credit for the robot goes to local techies - Nishant Sharma and Atul Kumar - both pursuing engineering courses at separate private institutions in Noida.

Sharma said, "When we came to know about the disease and the way it spreads, we thought of doing something. We made this robot after toiling for over a month.

"We named it 'Delta 3.0'. It has sensors and as one comes near, the gadget pours sanitiser in the hand of the person," he explained.

The robot has a display and speaker through which it can give instructions to patients and display the fed message or slogans, Sharma said.

It is controlled through a mobile application, he said, adding that it costs over Rs 1 lakh but if supported by the government the price could be brought down.

Till Sunday, Bulandshahr district has reported 15 coronavirus cases of whom two have been discharged while one COVID-19 positive patient has died.

Health officials said 12 active cases were still there. Among the affected persons, nine belonged to Tablighi Jamaat.

The DM said that each of those in institutional or home quarantine have been given a soap, two washable face masks and hand sanitisers.

"We are also giving 25 kg bleaching powder and 20 litres of sodium hypochlorite for sanitisation of villages as a precautionary measure," he added.