Quarantine for coronavirus can be solitary, but sometimes it can also be sad, solitary and technological. Joke.
In a Tokyo hotel converted to accept patients with mild symptoms in quarantine, a humanoid robot will offer support and encouragement, as well as advice and warnings to make the time spent in the facility less burdensome.
“You can't fight coronavirus on an empty stomach. Please eat well to feel good”
It is one of the messages that the Pepper robot provides to coronavirus patients pending their quarantine in Tokyo Hotel. The local government has worked with accommodations to provide rooms for patients with mild symptoms, hoping to free up space in hospitals that suffer from stress.
In one of these facilities, newcomers will interact with Pepper, a white humanoid robot with round eyes and a tablet on his "chest", who to set a good example will also wear a mask while carrying out his task.
“Patients are quarantined for two weeks, so we're using a greeting robot to help them feel a little more comfortable mentally”The Tokyo government spokeswoman told reporters Naoko Kubota.
The Tokyo government has so far entered into agreements with five hotels, providing approximately 2.800 rooms for coronavirus patients, although only 200 are currently in use.
“Because patients are infected, in quarantine it becomes complicated to always have a real person to interact with,” he said Kan Kiyota, marketing director of Softbank, the company that makes the Pepper robot.
Pepper, the quarantine robot, is a 'talking cricket' of the new millennium
Pepper pours out encouragements like "We're all supporting you" and "Please get plenty of rest while you're here and recover!", even bringing in messages from friends and family to the occasion.
The robot's supporting role does not stop at mere encouragement. He also says “please don't bring alcohol into the building” and “The quickest way to recover is to eat a balanced meal, rather than your favorite dishes.” These are just some of the precepts given to discipline people. Another way to keep them from falling prey to fear.
Do robots link in times of social distancing?
Between China and Japan other tests involve androids. In addition to robots used for deliveries, we also saw robots employed “sanitizers” in hospitals. A smaller version of them, a robot vacuum cleaner, will operate in the hotel lobby without human assistance.
Health workers? Those are humans
Not just robots, anyway. In the Tokyo hotel, real doctors and nurses will be responsible for healthcare, including monitoring data that patients must submit twice a day on their temperature and blood oxygen saturation level.
Japan has so far seen a relatively small outbreak compared to parts of Europe and the United States, with nearly 14.300 recorded infections and 432 deaths.
