COVID-Detecting Robot in Mexico Helps Schools Reopen Safely
Xareni, 6 years old, takes online classes at a private school that did not enter the mode of classes via TV broadcasting on August 24, 2020 in Mexico City, Mexico. Mexican government will not allow in-person lessons this year and has developed a remote education system based on TV broadcasting. "Aprende en Casa" ("learn at home") program will support around 30 million students in the country in the 4 levels of basic education (kindergarten, preschool, elementary and secondary school) during the Covid-19 pandemic. Hector Vivas/Getty Images

A COVID-detecting robot has been deployed in certain schools in the state of Queretaro in Mexico to help schools safely reopen.

An artificial intelligence robot created in China, Benebot, inspects students' faces through its eyes and have their temperatures check by placing their hands through its "stomach."

The COVID-detecting robot is also being used in more than 40 countries, The San Diego Union-Tribune reported. Benebot also has a screen on its side, where different readings from the students are shown. It can be viewed and followed every day.

Aside from COVID, Benebot can also identify other illnesses such as the flu and chickenpox with its medical-grade cameras, temperature sensors, and AI software capable of evaluating in seconds a child's health.

Antonio Robles, the person in charge of Benebot technology, told EFE that the robot takes a shot of the eye, reviews the redness, and analyzes where it started. Robles noted that it notices the relationship of each anomaly.

Schools Reopening in Mexico

Many Mexican states are eyeing to reopen schools once the teachers have been vaccinated. A vaccination campaign for teachers was launched weeks ago.

Currently, 15 schools in Mexico have acquired the COVID-detecting robot in Queretaro, Puebla, and Oaxaca. Mexico City had also procured the same technology.

One mother of a student at the Salesiano school, Eneri Gutierrez, had already seen how the COVID-detecting robot operates.

She said that it helps parents know that their children are healthy and not running into problems with their other schoolmates.

Meanwhile, teachers had an experience in a simulation on how the classroom reopening will go. Gabriela Montufal also told EFE that it is important for them to emphasize that the COVID-detecting robot is for the safety of all students since they share a classroom and always at risk of infection.

The students said they are comfortable with the robot in the first tests. A student noted that she liked it and felt really safe because she and her classmates can be well.

In January, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said that one of the 32 states would be resuming in-person classes as early as late February.

PBS News Hour reported that Mexico would become the first country in Latin America to start vaccinating teachers as a group.

Mexico's federal government is working closely with officials in the Gulf state to vaccinate as many as 20,000 school staff in January.

COVID-Detecting Robots

Almost a year ago, a Mexican technology startup, Roomie IT, has developed a robot that can determine people infected with COVID-19 from long distances, according to a Near Shore Americas report.

Called RoomieBot, it can check the temperature as well as oxygen saturation level in a human body. It is also powered by AI technology, which uses Amazon's virtual assistant. The robot also has a processor developed by U.S. chipmaker Intel.

RoomieBot can interact by voice and take a person's temperature via an infrared thermometer. The company officials said that the robot could be installed in places where people gather in crowds, like shopping malls and railway terminals.

The CEO of the company, Aldo Luévano, said their goal is not to diagnose as it is the doctor's job. He said what they wanted to do was identify people with COVID-19 symptoms without touching them.

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