Robot ‘nurse’ under development in Saskatchewan

January 28, 2008

Reza Fotouhi, an assistant professor of mechanical engineering at the University of Saskatchewan, piloting PowerBot, a robotic “nurse” he says could someday help fill shortages in the workforce.

Never mind the outlandish robotic helpers in The Jetsons: In a couple of years, a robotic nurse could be patrolling a hospital corridor near you, tasked with handing out pills or visiting infectious patients.

The robot’s creator, University of Saskatchewan assistant professor of mechanical engineering Reza Fotouhi, says his 45-kg coffee-table-sized invention could be the answer to worker shortages in the health-care, as well as the mining and agriculture, industry.

He has spent the past two years developing the ’bot, and while the technology behind robot manufacturing is nothing new (he started the project with a PowerBot heavy-duty robotic base, which is sold to developers and OEMs), his research time is spent developing algorithms to help it navigate and control the motion of its arm.

“Right now, the robot can navigate in a flat surface [environment] or on a surface with a ramp, which corresponds well with the environment of a hospital where we eventually want to be able to use it,” Fotouhi said. Among its skills: the robot can map out and memorize its surroundings, finding the quickest route from point A to point B using a GPS system, or a user can control it—a video camera on the front allows users to see what’s ahead of the machine.

The next step, Fotouhi said, is to hone the motion control of the robotic arm. This means that while the robot’s base is in motion, they would also like the arm to move at the same time. They are also trying to improve its range of motion so it can perform pick-and-place operations seamlessly.

“For example, if we want to use this robot in a hospital ward and want to give a patient a pill, the doctor can put the pill on the robot. The robot then navigates from the doctor’s office to the patient’s room. Of course, it has to be on the same floor; that’s the limitation for now.” Once with the patient, “The program for the arm kicks in, it picks up the pill and hands it to the patient.”

Fotouhi says arm movement is fairly complicated. “If you want to have the motion of a human hand in robot, it’s a huge problem, and that’s the part one of my PhD students is work on.”

The Canada Foundation funds the $215,000 project for Innovation along with the Government of Saskatchewan.
www.engr.usask.ca/dept/mee