Intelligent robots based on Intel technology to speed up intelligent triage of patients with new coronary pneumonia

““Intel technology has created tremendous value for us by dramatically reducing the time our robots take from the development phase to commercialization. We previously developed the full technology stack for our robots in-house, but currently use off-the-shelf Intel hardware and Software features such as RealSense, NUC and OpenVINO™ technology.”

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RoomieBot, an intelligent robot based on Intel technology, accelerates intelligent triage of patients with new coronary pneumonia

RoomieBot can make decisions such as guiding patients to seek medical attention and guiding triage, and medical staff can use it to interact with high-risk patients with new coronary pneumonia.

Roomie, a Mexican startup originally aimed at serving the hospitality industry, has quickly repositioned its service robots in partnership with Intel to assist COVID-19 healthcare workers in their efforts to contain the spread.

For the past year, patients’ temperature, blood oxygen levels and medical history were recorded immediately upon entering the National Institute for Worker Safety and Social Services hospital in Mexico. But this series of operations is not done by humans, but by a fully autonomous humanoid robot called RoomieBot using Intel technology.

“Intel technology has created tremendous value for us by dramatically reducing the time our robots take from the development phase to commercialization. We previously developed the full technology stack for our robots in-house, but currently use off-the-shelf Intel hardware and Software features such as RealSense, NUC and OpenVINO™ technology.”

–Aldo Luévano, co-founder and CEO of Roomie

With the RoomieBot, the size of a small propane gas tank on a wheel, it can make decisions such as guiding patients to seek medical attention, guiding triage, etc., and medical staff can use it to interact with high-risk patients with new coronary pneumonia. Hospitals can also use RoomieBot for special occasions, such as allowing terminally ill patients to make a video call with their family members from their hospital beds to say their final goodbyes.

Six-year-old Mexican startup Roomie, said to be the first robotics company in Latin America to specialize in service robots, initially aimed to design robots that could replace concierges in hotels and restaurants. But when the new crown pneumonia epidemic hit last year, Roomie hoped to help Mexico’s exhausted front-line medical workers.

In just four weeks, Roomie’s engineers repurposed their robot for use in a hospital setting: adding key sensors such as an oximeter (a device that estimates the oxygen saturation in the blood), among other improvements , such as adding antimicrobial coatings to the robot’s casing and LCD panels. The company’s quick action has drawn so much attention that the Spanish-language Forbes magazine named Roomie one of its “30 Most Promising Companies.”

Roomie, a Mexican startup originally aimed at serving the hospitality industry, has quickly repositioned its service robots in partnership with Intel to assist COVID-19 healthcare workers in their efforts to contain the spread.

RoomieBot uses Intel technology, including artificial intelligence algorithms running on the Intel® Movidius™ Vision Processing Unit (VPU), utilizing the 8th Gen Intel NUC and Intel® RealSense camera. The real-time data the robot collects from patients can be securely transmitted to Amazon Web Services for use by authorized healthcare workers.

Intel’s partnership with Roomie began before the COVID-19 pandemic. Socrates Huesca Gomez, Intel Field Sales Engineer, recalls: “When Roomie first approached us two years ago, their early robotics projects were using non-Intel components that didn’t meet their performance requirements, so they approached us.”

“This year, we’ve focused on helping Roomie take advantage of new Intel technologies to upgrade core components, reduce costs, shorten delivery times, and collaborate on key technology updates,” said Huesca Gomez.