Design and development Virtual Doctor Robot for contactless monitoring of patients during COVID-19

Abstract

The main objective of this paper is to design and develop a virtual doctor robot (VDR) that will operate on the command of the actual doctor available far away from the patient through new technology AI and IoT. It is not possible for doctors to be present everywhere and every time, especially in remote areas of India during COVID-19. As a result, in an emergency, many patients lose their lives because they couldn’t reach the hospital on time or the doctor couldn’t be available on time. In such a situation, virtual doctor robots play a vital role in healthcare with real-time data processing with machine learning algorithms. In this paper, technological innovation has created new opportunities to enhance doctor services without contact using robots that can assist patients in dealing with their illnesses and providing solutions. Virtual doctor robots can benefit healthcare by satisfying patients with more precise solutions. The virtual doctor robot design presented in this paper can rescue patients in remote areas during any pandemic like COVID-19. Through this virtual doctor robot, the doctors can observe and communicate with the patients through video calls and prescribe necessary medicines through scanner. The proposed VDR will help the doctors check the patient's pulse, body temperature, heart rate, etc. through different sensors mounted in the robot structure and send that data using the Wi-Fi network. The doctors will use an IoT-based panel to control and monitor the robot and patients. The control commands that are sent by the doctor to the VDR are sent online and the robot controller then receives these commands. The VDR also showcases other functions like alerting the battery status to remind one that the battery needs to be charged. It also stores the data related to diagnosed patients through cloud networking. The framework of VDR is based on an automated vehicle with a four-wheel drive for its movement and communication between the doctor and VDR is in real-time through the internet. This paper also discusses the future trends of Virtual Doctor robots for the health sector, humanoid robots for surgical help, and other activities of the healthcare sector.