Using robots to reduce injuries and lighten the human work load has always been a noble goal. My proposition would create a robot called Mayde that would remove and replace the sheets on a bed. Currently many workers do this back breaking task in large institutional settings like hospitals, hotels, nursing homes and cruise ships. At the moment there is no dedicated machine to handle this task and workers are often injured by the awkward lifting required to perform this function. I believe the robotic components are presently available to make this product a reality. Mayde would not replace the workers doing this task but make the task less cumbersome and prevent injury which would reduce sick days/health costs and keep workers in these functions longer. This would be like giving the worker a vacuum cleaner instead of a broom, an upgrade to their working equipment. Presently there is a large shortage of this type of worker and many leave because of back injury and the strenuousness of the job tasks. Also with the population aging more long term care facilities could profit from mechanizing this task and if price point for a home version is low enough perhaps Mayde might help allow the elderly to remain in their homes longer. In the hotel industry alone in the US (2010) there are roughly 64,000 establishments with an average of 127 beds or over 8 million beds which need to be changed daily. I believe that a service robot that can preform this function is long overdue and would be welcomed by hotel and institutional markets.
Voting
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ABOUT THE ENTRANT
- Name:Jill Carette
- Type of entry:individual
- Software used for this entry:Lego
- Patent status:none