Abstract
Traditionally, advances in robotic technology have been in the manufacturing industry due to the need for collaborative robots. However, this is not the case in the service sectors, especially in the healthcare sector. The lack of emphasis put on the healthcare sector has led to new opportunities in developing service robots that aid patients with illnesses, cognition challenges and disabilities. Furthermore, the COVID-19 pandemic has acted as a catalyst for the development of service robots in the healthcare sector in an attempt to overcome the difficulties and hardships caused by this virus. The use of service robots are advantageous as they not only prevent the spread of infection, and reduce human error but they also allow front-line staff to reduce direct contact, focusing their attention on higher priority tasks and creating separation from direct exposure to infection. This paper presents a review of various types of robotic technologies and their uses in the healthcare sector. The reviewed technologies are a collaboration between academia and the healthcare industry, demonstrating the research and testing needed in the creation of service robots before they can be deployed in real-world applications and use cases. We focus on how robots can provide benefits to patients, healthcare workers, customers, and organisations during the COVID-19 pandemic. Furthermore, we investigate the emerging focal issues of effective cleaning, logistics of patients and supplies, reduction of human errors, and remote monitoring of patients to increase system capacity, efficiency, resource equality in hospitals, and related healthcare environments.
Highlights
Over the years, the field of service robotics has grown significantly, especially in the industry sector
This paper presents a review on service robots used in the healthcare sector, focusing on those that can provide benefits to patients, healthcare workers, customers, and organisations during the COVID-19 pandemic
As a lot of materials are transported in hospitals each day, such as medicine, medical supplies, laboratory samples, food, and linen, the healthcare sector is an ideal area for this application
Summary
The field of service robotics has grown significantly, especially in the industry sector. Less attention has been given to the healthcare sector than to other sectors, perhaps due to the challenges associated with providing interpersonal care, the very nature of the service. This has caused delays in the development of robots to help with patient care needs, this has all changed since the outbreak of the Coronavirus. The quarantine measures that have been put into place across the globe have required people to live their lives in isolation, away from their family and friends This has had a negative effect on both physical and mental health.
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