“They wanted to prototype technologies for telexistence… so it’s essentially where you have a
remote operator… controlling a robotic autonomous system.”
If you are injured in a disaster zone, it is critical that you receive medical care as urgently as
possible. But what if the environment is not safe for medics to enter? Either because it is a war
zone or because there are hazardous materials around. That’s where AMRC’s VR technology
can help.
The Advanced Medical Robotics Centre at the University of Sheffield, UK has created
pioneering robotics technology to get medics into difficult-to-access areas to triage patients.
Using medical telexistence (MediTel) technology, medics can operate a remote controlled robot
to reach the patients, and wear a virtual reality headset which places them in that environment.
The robots are equipped with medical devices which allow the medics to carry out checks
including taking the patient's pulse, administering pain relief and palpitating their abdomen.
Meanwhile the headset is so realistic that it feels like the user is there on the ground, with the
view from the robot moving in real time as they move their heads. AMRC is hoping to use this
technology in the next 1-2 years to save lives in dangerous environments.
In this episode we head to Sheffield to visit AMRC’s Digital Design Lab to meet David King, who
demonstrates how realistic their MediTel VR technology is.
