Covid-19: Robot that carries out throat swab test developed in Denmark

Researchers in Denmark have developed a fully automated robot that can take swabs for coronavirus testing

The University of Southern Denmark announced that its researchers have developed the world’s first fully automatic robot capable of carrying out throat swabs for Covid-19.

The equipment uses a 3D-printed disposable arm that is automatically swapped after each patient.

Thiusius Rajeeth Savarimuthu, professor and in-charge of the team, said, “There are prospects in developing a throat swab robot so that robots can take over the throat swabbing work both in relation to Covid-19, but also in all future viruses”

Using two Universal Robots UR3 cobot arms and a custom 3D-printed end effector, it picks up the swab after the patient has scanned an ID card.

The robot then uses its vision system to identify the right points to swab in the patient’s throat. Once the swab is complete, the robot places the sample in a jar and screws on the lid. The jar is then sent to a lab for analysis.

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