Robot greets patients in a clinic in Budapest

It might be unexpected to some, but a human-shaped robot named Pepper is working in a private clinic in Buda. The task of the robot is to pre-screen and interview the patients, and to guide those who are suspected to be infected with coronavirus to the appropriate doctor, according to protocol.

Robots are already being used in Asia to reduce human contact, which is especially important in healthcare facilities now, but there is also a Hungarian example of this phenomenon, as Forbes learned from Netlife Robotics.

An extraordinary image greets patients who enter a private clinic in Buda; a nearly 1.5-metre-high, human-like robot is the first to greet those arriving for medical care. The robot, named Pepper, is capable of gestures and immediately greets patients who come to the practice. It introduces itself and says that it wants to ask some questions regarding the coronavirus. If the patient accepts and starts to talk to the robot, Pepper follows the usual questioning protocol: among other things, it asks if the patient has a fever, coughs, or has come in contact with a person infected with the coronavirus.

If the robot has received a negative answer to all of his five questions, Pepper reports that no coronavirus infection is suspected and asks the patient to go to the reception, where they can check in with the doctor, now with the help of the human staff. If the answer to any single one of those questions is affirmative, Pepper advises the patient to consult their general practitioner, who will decide on the necessary further steps.

The robot can do tasks without a mask or gloves, and early feedback seem favourable

Hungary’s first humanoid robot to perform the task of a healthcare assistant was deployed to help make work in the practice safer.

“We found that patients like the first, non-traditional greeting and are happy to cooperate with the robot. It is easier for our colleagues that the robot takes over this simple, yet burdensome, repetitive process,” said the medical director of the Budai Magánorvosi Centrum (approx.: Private Medical Centre of Buda). According to Dr Alexandra Pácz, although the use of human-shaped robots is still unique in Hungary, there are many examples of their use worldwide.

Pepper’s peers work as receptionists in hospitals in Belgium, Australia, and Canada, where they also help with routine tasks, or children can play with them. Robots are also involved in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic. In a “smart hospital” in China, robots took a number of tasks off the shoulders of the nursing staff, and some places are experimenting with robots disinfecting hospital units with UV light.