COVID-19: Nigerian students make breakthrough in Artificial Intelligence, build medical robot
Nigerian students have made a breakthrough in artificial intelligence by building a medical robot to curtail the spread of the coronavirus. The students of Glisten International Academy, Abuja, are the inventors of a front line mobile robot christened, Mairabot. Mairabot, according to the students, is designed to perform essential medical duties such as acting as an interface between the doctor and patient as well as delivering drugs to the patient.
The Executive Director of the Academy, Mr. Abba Abdullahi Saida who led the team to the management of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), revealed that one of the motivations that led to the design of the robot is to reduce the rate at which medical personnel are contracting COVID-19 while discharging their duties. He said: “This robot is created to reduce the number of physical contact between the medical personnel and the affected patients and this will in return reduce drastically the number of medical personnel that will be affected in the process of carrying out the duties.”
The Executive Director noted that innovative measures were put in place to checkmate the development process of the project to ensure it meets the International standard and also improves its performance level to cover other aspects of human life.
In his brief remarks, the NITDA Director-General, Mallam Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, commended the academy for coming up with such innovations.
While reaffirming the NITDA’S readiness to assist innovative ideas that solve the barrage of problems bedevilling the nation, he enjoined the students to see the future in digital skills as it is the future work in the digital era.
Mallam Abdullahi however directed the Office for ICT Innovation and Entrepreneurship to ensure that the project and the inventors enjoy necessary visibility in order to promote their idea for commercialization.
The DG asked that the teacher and students be equipped with digital tools to help further ideations. They collected seven iPad devices, laptop computer and other internet-enabled components .
