The outbreak of COVID-19 has not just confined people to their homes worldwide to fight the pandemic but also has imposed strict social distancing policies for public spaces. Healthcare workers are especially at risk having to deal with sick people or potentially sick people without getting infected themselves.
SK Telecom has come up with a way for healthcare workers to avoid initial contact with potentially sick people in a 5G-powered autonomous robot that carries out activities such as contactless temperature screenings for visitors and disinfecting buildings.
5G is the next generation of wireless technology with the promise to substantially increase the download speeds by up to 10 times that of current 4G technology. But the technology also has the promise of low latency and high bandwidth allowing for applications such as remote monitoring of industrial applications, advances in telehealth and emergency services, faster virtual and augmented reality smartphones and the ability to direct robots in the field to go farther and do more applications.
The 5G-enabled robot moves toward visitors to check body temperatures using a thermal imaging camera. If a person is measured with a temperature at 99.5 degrees F or higher, it sets off an alarm and alerts the control center. 5G allows the robot to communicate in real-time, prohibiting people with symptoms from entering a building.
Working with robotic and sensor maker Omron, the robots also are equipped with UV lamps and two automatic floor disinfectant sprayers to automatically disinfect buildings. SK said the robots can achieve 99.9% disinfection of 33 square meters of surface areas in just 10 minutes.
Additionally, the SK robots can identify places where people are gathered and then move to the location to play a message stressing social distancing. The machines can also identify those not wearing a face mask and request them to wear one.
SK plans to deploy the 5G robots at its headquarters first and will launch the machine in Korea this year and in global markets in 2021.
