MEET LOCALLY-MADE ROBOT FOR COVID-19

MBABANE – A 18-year-old teenager has made a robotic tray that transports food and medication from the dispenser to a patient.
This idea came through a motivation by COVID-19, a disease caused by the coronavirus.

Kwanele Maziya, who will be turning 19 years old later this year, said so far he has developed one gadget, a job that took him only two days to complete.
Maziya, a resident of Mpaka who completed at Lusoti High School in 2018 built the robot at his home where he stays with his mother, who is a nurse and his father, a senior officer in the army.

He said he started having an interest in robotics in 2014 while he was doing Form II.
“Between then and 2018 I worked together with other pupils in different groups and we even represented the country in many international science contests in Mexico and South Africa,” he said.

Maziya said he had not yet named his robot which was put on trial last week.
In a 44-second video clip, the gadget is seen moving across a living room towards an obscured person who places three bottles of medicine on the top tray. It then turns and moves straight towards a set of sofas where, after a brief pause, it repositions itself such that it stops right in front of a woman laying on a sofa; who then takes the medication from the tray.

Maziya explained that he was the one who dispensed the medication during a demonstration and had the robot deliver it to his sister-in-law.

Medication

“I decided to make a robot tray/trolley that can be used to send food and medication to patients who are in isolation and quarantine. The whole purpose of the innovation is to minimise chances of direct contact between patients and health practitioners or care- givers.”

He explained that the robot is controlled in two ways; through coding and programming or manually by a remote control.
He said the coding and programming used a drag and drop process where data like distance, speed and turns (left and right) were entered to direct the robot to its specific destination.

“These commands are entered before dispatching and the dispatcher may monitor the robot as it transports the items because it is not meant to keep the dispatcher away from the patient but just to keep a distance between them.”
He insisted that the robot was user-friendly and did not require deep expertise or training in science.

Maziya estimated the cost of manufacturing one robot at E10 000. He said this was for material including a motor, wires, wheels and screws, most of which he said he purchased from the United States of America.

He said over the years and now he has been receiving support to pursue his dream in robotics from his former school, his family and from other people like Ndzingeni Member of Parliament Lutfo Dlamini.

 Financially

“I approached the MP this year after referral by a friend of mine whom I told about my idea. The MP was very welcoming and he has helped me financially and otherwise with the current project. He also took the responsibility to find me a market for the gadget.” He said his mother also played a vital role in this particular project by furnishing him with the necessary health information as she is a nurse.

Maziya has recently been admitted to the Royal Science and Technology Park where he will be doing a two-year course in network administration.
“Otherwise I want to pursue a career in robotics.”

Apart from this robot, Maziya and two other pupils of Lusoti High School created a robot that lifted a box and placed it at a specific place, as per the contest challenge that was given to them while they were in Mexico. He said two of his school friends were pursuing their studies at Limkokwing University of Creative Technology and at the University of Eswatini. MP Lutfo Dlamini said he had met with the young man and they were working together.

“We have already identified suppliers of material from Hong Kong and we have ordered enough to make 10 more prototypes.” Dlamini said he was making arrangements for a formal presentation of the project and also working on having Maziya’s intellect protected. “We don’t want him to be used but we want him to be considered as an inventor.”

Handy

He said Maziya’s robot would come in handy now during the time of COVID-19 because it would be used for contactless deliveries.
He said there was no official funding for the project for now, but they were financing costs from their pockets.

Post your comment

Your name:

Your e-mail address:

Add your comments:

Please enter the code you see in the image:

Image:

Code: