“Congratulations! You’re being rescued.”
Researchers primarily based out of the College of Sheffield are creating a brand new telepresence system that may permit educated medical personnel to securely present life-saving remedy to troopers whereas in fight. First reported by Engadget, the system incorporates a distinctive mixture of VR expertise, haptics, and superior robotics.
Utilizing a VR headset and haptic glove, medical personnel can remotely observe a affected person’s situation on the battlefield, together with their blood strain and temperature. They’ll even take mouth swabs, receive blood samples, and carry out medical triage utilizing the most recent in robotic surgical procedure expertise.
“Growing a remotely-operated robotic system would considerably enhance security by decreasing the quantity of hazard army personnel are uncovered to on the frontline,” mentioned Challenge Lead Professor Sanja Dogramadzi from the College of Sheffield’s Division of Automated Management and Programs Engineering in an official launch. “Our platform makes use of the most recent expertise and would combine it in a method that hasn’t been executed earlier than. We’re excited to guide on this analysis and share how the expertise could possibly be utilized in energetic service.”
“The MediTel challenge goals to assist defence and safety medical personnel remotely triage and deal with casualties,” added David King, head of digital design on the College of Sheffield AMRC. “MediTel will cut back the chance to medical personnel by limiting their publicity to potential hazards whereas offering an improved probability of survival for the casualty.”

We’ve seen our fair proportion of VR-controlled robots prior to now, from VR comfort retailer staff to a remote-controlled bomb squad bot. That mentioned, that is the primary we’ve heard of VR-powered medical robots.
Not solely might this expertise cut back the time it takes to deal with wounded troopers on the battlefield, but it surely might additionally enhance the security of educated medical professionals by eradicating them from doubtlessly harmful fight eventualities.
The challenge is being developed by the College of Sheffield’s Division of Automated Management and Programs Engineering and Superior Manufacturing Analysis Centre (AMRC) with funding from the Defence Science and Expertise Laboratory and Nuclear Decommissioning Authority by means of the Defence and Safety Accelerator. Extra assist was offered by I3DRobotics and Emergency Medication medical consultants.
For extra data take a look at the official report from the College of Sheffield.
Characteristic Picture Credit score: College of Sheffield