This Article is From May 26, 2020

COVID-19: IIM Kozhikode Startup Develops Swab Sample Collection Robot

The fight against the rapidly spreading COVID-19 pandemic has received a shot in the arm with an Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Kozhikode or IIMK based incubatee start-up’s indigenous robotic intervention.

COVID-19: IIM Kozhikode Startup Develops Swab Sample Collection Robot

COVID-19: IIM Kozhikode Startup Develops Swab Sample Collection Robot

The fight against the rapidly spreading COVID-19 pandemic has received a shot in the arm with an Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Kozhikode or IIMK-based incubatee start-up's indigenous robotic intervention.

The effort has led to the development of a functional prototype of a robotic swab sample collection arm which can be remotely controlled for safe and speedy swab sample collection process.

The startup ispAgro, specializes in drone and robotics technology and is one of the many start-ups mentored by IIMK's business incubator and entrepreneurship development center, LIVE, a statement from the Institute said.

The start-up, which has been seed-funded by the collaborative initiative between IIMK LIVE and Mangalore Refineries and Petrochemicals Limited (MRPL) has developed this robot to replace the manual swab collection process and thereby reducing the COVID19 threat to frontline health workers involved in test sample collection.

The robot armed with a 180 degree rotation gripper is extendable upto one meter in length, the statement said.

With the android app, a technician can easily operate it and regulate its movement beyond a safe physical barrier.

“The unprecedented crisis that the world finds itself in can only be countered by rapid innovations backed by indomitable spirit. The resolve shown by this start-up to come up with this robotic intervention in a short time speaks volumes about how indigenous talents nurtured in a cultivable, creative environment can lead the way in an hour of crisis,” Professor Debashis Chatterjee, Director, IIM Kozhikode said

Adding further, Avinash Rao, Founder – ispAgro Robotics said that the company is planning to enhance the prototype by including AI-based operator less control so that the robot can be deployed at the level of Primary Health Centres (PHCs).

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