Atlas invents AGV Robot to support Sri Lanka’s medical personnel combating coronavirus

The Atlas team with the AGV prototype

• Gifts prototype to Homagama Hospital and offers to share technology in the interest of the nation

Atlas Axillia PLC, a subsidiary of the Hemas Group, has gifted a fully homegrown Automated Guided Vehicle (AGV) robot to the Homagama Base Hospital, to assist medical personnel in the remote monitoring and care of patients affected by the coronavirus. 

The company announced that the prototype, a first of its kind in Sri Lanka, is currently undergoing live tests at the Homagama Base Hospital, where the Atlas team behind the invention is working closely with hospital staff to understand and address any functional concerns. The company will subsequently make the technology of this prototype available for select individuals or organisations that wish to produce more units to fight the pandemic.

Colombo Regional Director of Health Services Dr. Indika Jagoda lauded the launch of the prototype AGV. “It is truly remarkable that a Sri Lankan company has developed a homegrown robotic medical assistant. The advancement of technological development is vital in the fight against this pandemic. The ready access to patients that healthcare workers have without putting themselves at risk, thanks to the AGV robot, is truly a massive advantage in the fight against COVID-19,” he said.

The AGV can carry food and medicine to patients and perform basic medical check-ups, such as checking temperatures. It also enables doctors to monitor patients remotely, while having conversations with them through the cameras mounted on it. In addition to this, the AGV can charge itself using a wireless charging port, further reducing its physical proximity to healthcare workers. The use of the AGV will automate patient monitoring, thereby enabling healthcare workers to apply their expertise in managing the crisis more efficiently and to stay safe while saving lives.

Speaking on the initiative, Atlas Axillia Chief Executive Officer Asitha Samaraweera said, “I am extremely proud of our team for creating a solution to address one of the challenges our medical personnel are facing today in the country with respect to infectious diseases such as the coronavirus. We humbly share this invention to further the national cause to effectively combat COVID-19. We are gifting the prototype to the Homagama Hospital, as it is a designated facility to treat COVID-19 patients exclusively.”

“As a company with the national interest at heart for over 60 years, we have remained focused on contributing to Sri Lanka’s economy by investing in the country. This innovation by our team is the best way for us to do so in this critical time of need, ensuring that we are enabling our healthcare workers to fight the spread of this pandemic more efficiently,” Samaraweera added. 

Currently, healthcare providers who work closely with infected patients use Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) when treating them, at great physical discomfort to themselves. The deployment of the AGV will ease this burden to a great extent, where one-on-one patient interaction is focused on mandatory and critical health requirements.

Homagama Base Hospital Medical Superintendent Dr. Janith Hettiarachchi thanked Atlas Axillia for stepping in to help the nation at this crucial juncture. “The most important thing in a situation like this is keeping our staff safe. If even one of our staff is infected, the entire team will have to undergo quarantine, upsetting the entire operation. To have a robotic nursing assistant doing the work that a human healthcare worker would otherwise have to do, significantly reduces the chance of an infection and is therefore invaluable. This is apart from the large monetary saving the state makes, from not having to use multiple sets of expensive PPEs by healthcare workers to interact with patients each day.”

The AGV was developed by a team of innovators within the manufacturing and engineering division of Atlas, led by COO/Director Operations Viraj Jayasooriya. The team, which practices manufacturing innovation, developed the AGV originally as a robotic assistant to carry goods within the Atlas production facility. With the outbreak of the coronavirus, the team immediately began innovating the existing model to create a machine that can be used at hospitals, as a remote medical assistant.

Viraj Jayasooriya from Atlas said, “Our teams designed and fabricated the entire robot from scratch and have been working around the clock the past few days to perfect the modifications that will enable it to monitor COVID-19 patients. Medical professionals are constantly in danger of being exposed in the frontlines. With the AGV in place, we can minimise the need to send humans inside the ward, as the robot goes to each bed in multiple wards and allows the remote monitoring of patients by doctors. We welcome organisations who are interested in scaling up the production of this robot, in order to deploy them for the support of more medical personnel combating COVID-19.”   

Atlas intends to secure all design and patent rights in respect of this invention as soon as the circumstances permit it, in order proceed with further development. 

Dignitaries from Atlas and its parent company Hemas observing the AGV in action at the Homagama Base Hospital. Dignitaries present include Steven Enderby, Group CEO - Hemas Holdings (3rd from right); Kasturi Chellaraja Wilson Managing Director - Hemas Pharmaceuticals Pvt Ltd. / Hemas Logistics and Maritime Cluster (left); Asitha Samaraweera, CEO - Atlas Axillia (2nd from left); Viraj Jayasuriya, COO / Director Operations - Atlas Axillia (4th from left) and Dayan Harsha Marabedda, Manager Automations - Atlas Axillia (centre)