Nepho

It was organized by UK RAS Network, UK Robotics and Autonomous Systems (RAS) Network based in United Kingdom. The project was designed to transport COVID patients safely and to avoid spreading of virus in the environment. The project was funded by IEEE HAC & SIGHT. COVID patients can be seated on the wheelchair covered by the negative pressure isolation hood and the operator/caretaker can use the teleoperation control method and operate the wheelchair from a safe distance of up to 4 meters without the need to touch the wheelchair. The negative pressure isolation hood using a HEPA filter was developed and integrated into this powered wheelchair. The negative pressure isolation not only prevents the spread of pathogenic microorganisms but also permits rapid and flexible isolation transport. The air discharged from ventilation is through HEPA filters and is purified to ensure no harmful pathogens are spreading out.

IamBot is an educational robot that is specially designed for students at schools, and colleges and can be used even for research. This will be the best platform for students to study about robotics and different fields in robotics. Students can learn and test the hardware and develop new algorithms with this robot.

The IamBot Nexus can be controlled by teleoperation using a mobile app. Three ultrasonic sensors, a camera, and a microphone give the environmental awareness to this robot, and a loudspeaker for responding. The students can interact with the robot using a 7-inch touch screen display. This robot uses the world’s most popular robotic platform, ROS (Robotic Operating System). In addition to the mobile app-based control, the students can control the rechargeable battery-powered robot with voice commands using a microphone and touch commands using the touch screen. The Graphical User Interface allows the students to control, monitor, and set the robot parameters. Two 36V 350W brushless (BLDC) hub motors with hall effect sensor feedback and a caster wheel give mobility to the robot. Raspberry pi 4 with an Arduino microcontroller act as the brain of this robot. All the software used for this robot is open source and application notes and programs are available on GitHub. This robot can be used as a teleoperated food delivery robot, social robot, eldercare service robot, wall/line following robot etc.