Robot health worker will replace nurses. Children in more than 2,000 kindergartens in China have their health checked every morning by a robot and artificial intelligence.
The Walklake healthcare robot scans a child's hands, eyes and throat in just three seconds. If it detects any signs of illness - such as red eyes, a rash, or an ulcer in the mouth - it sends the child to the doctor in the hospital. Electronic assistants are used to create daily health reports for children in day care centers and schools, to reduce the spread of infectious diseases.
Robots have a thermometer and cameras that scan a child for symptoms of common diseases such as conjunctivitis, fever, skin diseases on hands, foot and mouth disease. Artificial intelligence is trained to diagnose signs of disease without human involvement.
Experts believe Walklake helps monitor health conditions where there aren't enough nurses or other staff. In the long term, the use of robots will help get rid of the routine and not always objective "human factor".
Professor Karen Panetta of Tufts University in Medford, Massachusetts, told New Scientist :
This allows better health monitoring, especially in places with large populations, where there are not enough qualified health workers.
Professor Panetta added that if Walklake robots become more widely used, they could help track and stop the spread of disease and epidemics.
Walklake believes that robots can help monitor children's health in the absence of a large number of nurses - they are faster and more user-friendly than physically examining each child.
In China, since 2017, kindergartens have been using robots to scan children between the ages of two and six.
These machines cost an average of $6,000 and are programmed to send health check results to children's parents and keep a patient's medical history electronically at all times. Artificial intelligence software constantly updates and tracks new and mutating infections.
The health care robot can have additional security settings, store photos of parents' faces, to track and analyze those who pick up students from kindergarten or school, and thereby alert teachers in a timely manner to possible kidnappers.
At the same time, special attention should be paid to the security of personal data and personal information. Any device connected to the Internet can pose a potential threat.
Machines can be useful, they can stop the spread of infections, but collecting personal information raises new ethical concerns. Many parents may be suspicious of such technology
Artificial intelligence and cybersecurity experts warn that there is a risk that personal health data could be hacked or used without user consent. There is also concern that children with chronic illnesses could be discriminated against, and minor illnesses could be overlooked.
Professor Nello Cristianini, professor of artificial intelligence at the University of Bristol, shares the experts' concerns. He said:
We have a new wave of artificial intelligence devices based on facial recognition that can be used for health care, but they can also access personal information, including psychometric-type
In light of these concerns, it is logical to pay maximum attention to the security of robots' interactions with the Internet. One solution to this problem could be the use of blockchain technology and cryptography. At the moment there is a lot of research and development towards the security of IOT devices.
Project IoTeX develops in the field of Internet of trusted things, develops innovative solutions related to privacy and confidentiality of personal user data.
The IoTeX network implements:
- end-to-end encryption technology for incoming data,
- Maintaining user privacy,
- Authorizing access to files,
- storage of the entire array of information on decentralized servers using blockchain technology.
The project has already developed a fully private video camera Ucam, which won the CES Innovation Awards during the annual competition for outstanding design and development in consumer technology in 2019.
Walklake's medical robot is a useful assistant that, after being tested in preschools in China, stands a good chance of mass use around the world. Blockchain technology helps users retain control over their personal data and medical records.
Parents who own blockchain accounts and private keys to them can rest assured that their children's health information is safe. The system completely blocks unauthorized access to their children's medical records.