Robotics

AJNA Autonomous ICU Assistance and Telepresence Robot

Developed an autonomous healthcare robotics platform during the COVID-19 pandemic for ICU assistance, telepresence communication, patient monitoring, and autonomous medicine delivery.

Summary

Engineering context

Developed an autonomous healthcare robotics platform during the COVID-19 pandemic for ICU assistance, telepresence communication, patient monitoring, and autonomous medicine delivery.

Category: Robotics
Year: Oct 2017 - Dec 2020
Status: Prototype Deployment
Context: Yazd University MSc (Oct 2017 - Dec 2020), in collaboration with Yazd Medical University during the COVID-19 pandemic

My Role

Computer Vision and Embedded Systems Engineer

Technical Stack

System Architecture

Autonomous mobile robot platform operated within ICU environments
Computer vision system detected and monitored patients
Embedded STM32F4 controller managed robot subsystems and communication
Ethernet-connected control architecture enabled communication with hospital infrastructure
Telepresence system allowed remote doctor-patient interaction
Mobile application provided monitoring and robot interaction capabilities

Engineering Challenges

Reliable patient detection in ICU environments
Autonomous navigation in dynamic hospital spaces
Integrating healthcare communication systems with robotics
Designing reliable embedded networking hardware
Developing safe autonomous operation in medical environments

Hardware / Firmware / Software

Hardware

Autonomous mobile robot platform
STM32F4 robot control board
Ethernet communication interface
Patient monitoring sensors
Embedded networking systems

Firmware

STM32F4 embedded firmware
Robot motion control firmware
Sensor acquisition firmware
Embedded communication stack
Ethernet communication firmware

Software

Computer vision patient detection system
SLAM and navigation system
Autonomous medicine delivery logic
Android application integration
Telepresence communication interface

Sensors

Temperature measurement sensors
Vision-based patient detection system
Robot navigation sensors

Protocols

Ethernet
TCP/IP
Embedded serial communication

Results / Outcomes

Successfully developed autonomous ICU assistance platform
Enabled remote doctor-patient communication
Reduced direct healthcare-worker exposure during COVID-19
Demonstrated autonomous medicine delivery capability
Integrated embedded systems, SLAM, networking, and computer vision into a healthcare robotics platform

Gallery

Engineering Notes

Autonomous Healthcare Platform

The robot was capable of:

autonomous movement within ICU environments
patient detection and interaction
temperature monitoring
medicine transport and delivery
remote telepresence communication

The system was designed to support patients who could independently receive medicine while minimizing unnecessary healthcare-worker exposure.

Embedded Control and Networking

A custom STM32F4-based robot control board was developed for the platform.

The PCB included:

embedded motor-control interfaces
Ethernet communication interface
networking subsystem integration
sensor interfaces
robot subsystem coordination

The Ethernet interface connected the robot to hospital networking infrastructure, enabling communication between:

the robot
mobile application
remote operators
hospital systems

Telepresence and Mobile Application

The system included a mobile application and telepresence interface that allowed doctors to communicate with patients remotely without physically entering ICU spaces unnecessarily.

This capability became particularly important during the COVID-19 pandemic where minimizing direct exposure was critical.