We believe that the safety of healthcare workers is of utmost importance. CASCOV- Consultation And Sanitization for COVID-19 is a bot that has been designed to prevent and minimize the exposure of healthcare workers to this virus and prevent the spread through contact with infected surfaces.
• GSM module • Arduino IDE • AutoCAD • TinkerCAD • Glowscript • MATLAB/Simulink • Visual Python
Follows the moving mechanism of a line follower robot, an automated guided vehicle, which follows a visual black line painted on the floor. The path is customized with unique markings near the walls and the bed so that the bot can sense and function accordingly. The bot will move around the whole ward, spraying sanitizer on the walls, floor, and objects simultaneously. An ultrasound sensor will detect any obstacles in its path to prevent a collision. This feature would enable our robot to move without any supervision. Floor markings are as follows:-
• Type1: This indicates that the bot is in front of the wall, so it has to stop, spray sanitizer on the wall and then start moving again.
• Type 2: This indicates that the bot is at the head of the bed, so it will have to stop, perform arm rotation to make the arm horizontal, put it under the bed, and then start moving further.
• Type 3: This indicates the bot to stop, take the arm back to its initial vertical position, and then start moving.
• Type 4: This indicates that the bot moves along a parallel wall on the right to spray while moving continuously.
• Type 5: This indicates that the bot moves along a parallel wall on the left to spray while moving continuously.
To achieve this functionality, we attach a circular acrylic sheet below the bot with a motor. The acrylic sheet scrubs the surface, thus cleaning it far more efficiently. The bottle with disinfectant liquid is attached to the surface of the bot with a few connecting tubes that can be drawn from it to clean the surface properly.
This spraying mechanism has a working similar to that of a piston. An engine type of mechanism will be implemented to push the piston of the sprayer. Depending on the type of signal received at the markings, the vertical arm of the bot is rotated so that it faces the surface on which the spraying is to be done. The same mechanism will be used to spray sanitizer under the beds and on the walls. But now a second stepper motor will be used to make the vertical arm horizontal.
For the communication of the bot with the medical staff via voice call, a GSM Shield(SIM 900) is used with an external SIM Card connected with the Arduino UNO board. This is connected to an external speaker and a microphone circuit. The feature will include a pushbutton, which will enable the patient to converse with the medical staff. The following is the schematic diagram for the sample circuit connection of the Arduino Board with the GSM Shield having an integrated microphone.