By 
With the increasing cases of medical personnel and other front line workers getting infected with COVID-19 as they battle the pandemic, students of Glisten International Academy, Abuja, have built an indigenous mobile robot christened Mairabot.
The front line robot is designed to perform essential medical duties such as acting as an interface between the doctor and patient as well as delivering of drugs to the patient.
During a presentation of the robot to the management of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) by the students, Glisten’s Executive Director, Mr. Abba Abdullahi Saida, said the team was motivated by the need to reduce the rate at which medical personnel are contracting COVID-19 while discharging their duties.
“This robot is created to reduce the number of physical contact between the medical personnel and the affected patients and this will in return reduce drastically the number of medical personnel that will be affected in the process of carrying out the duties,” said Saida.
He explained that innovative measures were put in place at the development process of the project to ensure it meets the international standard and also to improve its performance as well as allow it to provide multi-services in other fields.
The Director General, NITDA, Mallam Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, commended the academy for the innovations and reaffirmed the agency’s readiness to assist innovative projects targeting to solve problems affecting the country.
Abdullahi said the school has demonstrated it was focusing on building skills and preparing students to see a future in digital skills as the cornerstone of tomorrow’s economy.
The NITDA’s boss then directed the Office for ICT Innovation and Entrepreneurship (OIIE), the agency’s vehicle for supporting innovation, to provide the required support to the students’ project. He assured that the OIIE will help drive the process for visibility in order to promote the idea for commercialization.
An elated Abdullahi then presented gifts consisting of Ipads, a laptop and internet accessories to the teacher and students as part of the agency’s digital enablement that could be used for further ideations.
