Makcik Kiah 19 food delivery robot
Malaysia has shown that it has been stepping up its tech game to fight COVID-19, with robots used to sanitize streets and drones helping monitor Movement Control Order (MCO).
And now another addition to the list has been made: a hospital delivery robot cheekily called “Makcik Kiah 19” that’ll help healthcare workers deliver food and medicine with a friendly “face” to patients getting tested for COVID-19.
First Hospital Delivery Robot System designed in M’sia
Handlers showing how “Makcik Kiah 19” will operate to help frontliners
Image credit: UTM
Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) previously developed automated disinfection chambers to help keep the public safe from COVID-19 infections. Now, a collab with Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Medical Centre (HCTM) and DF Automation & Robotics Sdn Bhd (DF) sees the first Malaysian-designed Hospital Delivery Robot System.
The team behind Makcik Kiah 19, the first hospital delivery robot system in Malaysia
Image credit: UTM
Assembled in less than 2 weeks, “Makcik Kiah 19” – or MCK19 for short – is a working prototype that’s able to deliver food and medicine to patients under investigation for COVID-19 in hospitals. It’s set to roam the halls of HCTM in KL at the end of this week.
Taking over medical staff’s high-risk roles, it’ll help minimise human contact and the need for protective gear. This is especially useful since there’s a constant shortage of gear, which has seen inmates and the communities DIY-ing them for hospitals.
Makcik Kiah 19 is an all-rounder helper
Makcik Kiah 19’s digital face and control buttons can only be accessed by admins
Image adapted from: UTM
Robots aren’t exactly known to have human expressions, but Makcik Kiah 19 has an LCD screen that displays a friendly face to match its friendly name – which, if you didn’t already know, is a name our Prime Minister used to sum up hardworking Malaysians in tough times.
With an adorable face and pink cheeks, Makcik Kiah 19 will surely bring smiles to patients as it rolls around delivering essentials to patients. In the future, it can also be used as a tool of communication between doctors and patients to practice social distancing.
Makcik Kiah 19’s shelves to carry essentials that can be rearranged for future purposes
Image adapted from: UTM
Further proving its niftiness, Makcik Kiah 19’s shelves can hold up to 300kg and be rearranged for other uses. It’s also able to move around autonomously, and authorised admins can control it remotely.
Adorable food delivery robot to help frontliners
Malaysians have been showing their appreciation for hardworking frontliners battling COVID-19 to keep us all safe in many different ways. Makcik Kiah 19 is an ingenious way that helps curb the spread of the virus to frontline workers, and it makes it all the more endearing that it’s doing so with a smile on its face.
Keep up to date with COVID-19 news in M’sia here:
- Over 1,000 M’sian Police Quarantined; 66 Test Positive
- M’sian student gets parade send-off in New York
- 3-ply “toilet roll” cakes are now for sale in KL
- M’sian woman grows taugeh in a plastic bottle
- Mosque in PJ gives free groceries to the needy
Cover image adapted from: UTM