Danish researchers have developed a fully automated robot that can take coronavirus swabs to protect health care professionals from the risk of infection.

When a patient presents an ID-card, the “swab robot” prepares a sampling kit, performs the swab and puts the sample in a container ready for testing.

Researchers from Southern University of Denmark (SDU) and Lifeline Robotics hope their prototype can soon be deployed so that medical staff do not have to carry out the potentially risky task of testing patients.

In a video, Thiusius Rajeeth Savarimuthu, professor of robotics at SDU tested the robot on himself.

He positioned his face with his chin in a plastic frame, opened his mouth wide, and allowed a robotic arm to stick a swab into the back of his throat and rotate it.

Better quality of samples

The robot, powered by artificial intelligence, uses cameras to find the right part of the throat, and is programmed to swab it gently.

“You get exactly the same procedure repeated again and again which will give better quality of the samples,” Savarimuthu told Reuters.

Soeren Stig, chief executive of Lifeline Robotics, predicts a global demand for the swab robot. 

More automated testing will be needed to protect and shield those that are in the front line, he says.