Robot “nurses” treat mildly ill Covid-19 patients in Tokyo

Softbank robotics deploy robot ”Nurses” in Tokyo hotels

Robot hotel staff, made by SoftBank Robotics, has started to treat mildly ill COVID-19 patients as part of a strategy to free up capacity at hospitals that are overburdened with more severe cases. Pepper, the talking robot, greets guests in the hotel lobby, while a cleaning robot operates in areas where patients pick up meals and other necessities to reduce infection risks for the human hotel workers.

Guests can also access health applications on computers and tablets to measure their temperature and symptoms. The robots are planned to be used at more hotels in Tokyo’s metropolitan area for patients with mild symptoms. So far, Tokyo has already repurposed five hotels for COVID-19 treatment. The hotels employ both robots and human medical staff. The idea is that the robots will reduce the spread of infection to human staff while also cheering up lonely isolated patients.