IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine - March 2021 - 82
Mental and
Emotional
Health Care
for COVID-19
Patients
Employing Pudu,
a Telepresence Robot
ILOV
/PAR
COM
OCK.
ERST
TT
U
SH
©
T
he COVID-19 pandemic is affecting the mental
and emotional health of patients, family members,
health-care workers, and the community. Pa tients are affected by symptoms produced by
prolonged hospitalization and isolation, and
health-care workers are affected by the stress produced
by the possibility of infection and rapid changes in the
kinds of care they provide. Robotics technologies can
contribute to addressing these stresses. This article describes
the development and main characteristics of Pudu, a
telepresence robot designed to provide safe communication
between COVID-19 patients and health-care workers,
particularly neurologists and intensive care psychologists.
The article identifies the key aspects that enabled the
development and deployment of the robot in just eight
weeks during an intensive quarantine and describes how the
robot is assisting health-care workers in providing mental and
psychological health care. At present, two Pudu robots are
in use in two Chilean hospitals. Although the city of Santiago
Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/MRA.2020.3044906
Date of current version: 25 January 2021
82
*
IEEE ROBOTICS & AUTOMATION MAGAZINE
*
MARCH 2021
By Javier Ruiz-del-Solar, Mauricio Salazar, Verónica Vargas-Araya,
Ulises Campodónico, Nicolas Marticorena, Giovanni Pais,
Rodrigo Salas, Pablo Alfesi, Víctor Contreras, and Javier Urrutia
is moving toward less-intensive levels of quarantine, our
robots are still needed to help provide the required
emotional support and mental/psychological health care
to confined patients.
Background
The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted all health areas. In
particular, as noted in the opening, it is affecting the mental
health of patients, family members, health-care workers,
and the community. Research in this regard, such as that
reported in [1], shows a 56% increase in generalized anxiety disorders and an increase of more than 30% in major
depressive disorders in patients infected with COVID-19.
Health-care workers have also been significantly affected in
emotional areas, as highlighted in several published studies
[1]-[4], which show that approximately 35% have anxiety
symptoms, 20% are afflicted with depressive symptoms,
1070-9932/21©2021IEEE
IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine - March 2021
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine - March 2021
Contents
IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine - March 2021 - Cover1
IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine - March 2021 - Cover2
IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine - March 2021 - Contents
IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine - March 2021 - 2
IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine - March 2021 - 3
IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine - March 2021 - 4
IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine - March 2021 - 5
IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine - March 2021 - 6
IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine - March 2021 - 7
IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine - March 2021 - 8
IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine - March 2021 - 9
IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine - March 2021 - 10
IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine - March 2021 - 11
IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine - March 2021 - 12
IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine - March 2021 - 13
IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine - March 2021 - 14
IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine - March 2021 - 15
IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine - March 2021 - 16
IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine - March 2021 - 17
IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine - March 2021 - 18
IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine - March 2021 - 19
IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine - March 2021 - 20
IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine - March 2021 - 21
IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine - March 2021 - 22
IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine - March 2021 - 23
IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine - March 2021 - 24
IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine - March 2021 - 25
IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine - March 2021 - 26
IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine - March 2021 - 27
IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine - March 2021 - 28
IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine - March 2021 - 29
IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine - March 2021 - 30
IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine - March 2021 - 31
IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine - March 2021 - 32
IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine - March 2021 - 33
IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine - March 2021 - 34
IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine - March 2021 - 35
IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine - March 2021 - 36
IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine - March 2021 - 37
IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine - March 2021 - 38
IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine - March 2021 - 39
IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine - March 2021 - 40
IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine - March 2021 - 41
IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine - March 2021 - 42
IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine - March 2021 - 43
IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine - March 2021 - 44
IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine - March 2021 - 45
IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine - March 2021 - 46
IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine - March 2021 - 47
IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine - March 2021 - 48
IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine - March 2021 - 49
IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine - March 2021 - 50
IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine - March 2021 - 51
IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine - March 2021 - 52
IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine - March 2021 - 53
IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine - March 2021 - 54
IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine - March 2021 - 55
IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine - March 2021 - 56
IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine - March 2021 - 57
IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine - March 2021 - 58
IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine - March 2021 - 59
IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine - March 2021 - 60
IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine - March 2021 - 61
IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine - March 2021 - 62
IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine - March 2021 - 63
IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine - March 2021 - 64
IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine - March 2021 - 65
IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine - March 2021 - 66
IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine - March 2021 - 67
IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine - March 2021 - 68
IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine - March 2021 - 69
IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine - March 2021 - 70
IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine - March 2021 - 71
IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine - March 2021 - 72
IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine - March 2021 - 73
IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine - March 2021 - 74
IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine - March 2021 - 75
IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine - March 2021 - 76
IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine - March 2021 - 77
IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine - March 2021 - 78
IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine - March 2021 - 79
IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine - March 2021 - 80
IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine - March 2021 - 81
IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine - March 2021 - 82
IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine - March 2021 - 83
IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine - March 2021 - 84
IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine - March 2021 - 85
IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine - March 2021 - 86
IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine - March 2021 - 87
IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine - March 2021 - 88
IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine - March 2021 - 89
IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine - March 2021 - 90
IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine - March 2021 - 91
IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine - March 2021 - 92
IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine - March 2021 - 93
IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine - March 2021 - 94
IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine - March 2021 - 95
IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine - March 2021 - 96
IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine - March 2021 - 97
IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine - March 2021 - 98
IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine - March 2021 - 99
IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine - March 2021 - 100
IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine - March 2021 - 101
IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine - March 2021 - 102
IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine - March 2021 - 103
IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine - March 2021 - 104
IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine - March 2021 - 105
IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine - March 2021 - 106
IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine - March 2021 - 107
IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine - March 2021 - 108
IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine - March 2021 - 109
IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine - March 2021 - 110
IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine - March 2021 - 111
IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine - March 2021 - 112
IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine - March 2021 - 113
IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine - March 2021 - 114
IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine - March 2021 - 115
IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine - March 2021 - 116
IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine - March 2021 - 117
IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine - March 2021 - 118
IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine - March 2021 - 119
IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine - March 2021 - 120
IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine - March 2021 - 121
IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine - March 2021 - 122
IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine - March 2021 - 123
IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine - March 2021 - 124
IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine - March 2021 - 125
IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine - March 2021 - 126
IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine - March 2021 - 127
IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine - March 2021 - 128
IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine - March 2021 - Cover3
IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine - March 2021 - Cover4
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/roboticsautomation_december2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/roboticsautomation_september2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/roboticsautomation_june2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/roboticsautomation_march2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/roboticsautomation_december2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/roboticsautomation_september2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/roboticsautomation_june2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/roboticsautomation_march2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/roboticsautomation_december2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/roboticsautomation_september2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/roboticsautomation_june2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/roboticsautomation_march2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/roboticsautomation_december2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/roboticsautomation_september2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/roboticsautomation_june2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/roboticsautomation_march2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/roboticsautomation_december2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/roboticsautomation_september2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/roboticsautomation_june2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/roboticsautomation_march2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/roboticsautomation_december2018
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/roboticsautomation_september2018
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/roboticsautomation_june2018
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/roboticsautomation_march2018
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/roboticsautomation_december2017
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/roboticsautomation_september2017
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/roboticsautomation_june2017
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/roboticsautomation_march2017
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/roboticsautomation_december2016
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/roboticsautomation_september2016
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/roboticsautomation_june2016
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/roboticsautomation_march2016
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/roboticsautomation_december2015
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/roboticsautomation_september2015
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/roboticsautomation_june2015
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/roboticsautomation_march2015
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/roboticsautomation_december2014
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/roboticsautomation_september2014
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/roboticsautomation_june2014
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/roboticsautomation_march2014
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/roboticsautomation_december2013
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/roboticsautomation_september2013
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/roboticsautomation_june2013
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/roboticsautomation_march2013
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/roboticsautomation_december2012
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/roboticsautomation_september2012
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/roboticsautomation_june2012
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/roboticsautomation_march2012
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/roboticsautomation_december2011
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/roboticsautomation_september2011
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/roboticsautomation_june2011
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/roboticsautomation_march2011
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/roboticsautomation_december2010
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/roboticsautomation_september2010
https://www.nxtbookmedia.com