Robotics may soon become safety aids
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and university researchers have common cause in robotics: Keeping workers safe and healthy.
Two years ago, as COVID-19 gripped the world, the CDC started looking into robotics as a way to keep health care workers safe. The idea seemed obvious: Use robots to decrease risk of infection in quarantine and intensive care environments.
Since then, robots have also been developed for tasks such as helping workers in recycling plants sort out recyclables and discover potentially dangerous items.
Now researchers at West Virginia University are working on a project to reduce slips and falls in retails spaces by using robots. According to researchers, retail and wholesale workers suffer more than half a million non-fatal injuries each year.
Robotic vehicles might well be able to detect hazardous conditions in warehouses and other spaces. The idea is that as the robot drives along, sensors compare wheel speed versus actual speed. A spinning wheel would warn of a slip hazard.
