Modular Telepresence Robot for Distance Medical Education

In special conditions such as pandemics, wars or any other problem can lead to the physical suspension of the education system including courses in medical schools. Telepresence robotics is a solution through which courses and laboratories can be held remotely where medical students can interact physically, through robots, with teaching or laboratory equipment, thus actively participating in the educational process. Although there are various variants of telepresence robots, this paper presents the study of the possibility to design and make a telepresence robot kit, low cost, containing modules easy to assemble and adapted for various teaching situations, respectively for the development of remote laboratory experiments. The proposed kit has mechanical components that can be printed on a 3D printer. The electronic components are compatible with the Arduino environment and include three modules: sensory, navigation and a communications and artificial intelligence module. The software elements are also modularly designed and allow adaptation to various study and laboratory situations. Robotic elements compatible with the Arduino environment such as arms or lifting or throwing systems can be added to the robot. The results of the experimental measurements showed that the robot has acceptable travel errors for unpretentious applications, but to increase its accuracy in laboratory conditions, the software was programmed so that, with the help of artificial intelligence, the robot can perform real-time measurements and correct automatically. This mechanism is useful in medical applications such as assisting and guiding blind patients.