Disinfection robots have been used at isolation wards, intensive care units, operating rooms and fever clinics. Credit: FOX News.

It is said that, only during the toughest times, does the best of us appear.

Thanks to the rapid development of artificial intelligence, one can definitely say that for the robots of China, who have been called upon to battle the ongoing epidemic.

From disinfection and street patrols to food and medicine delivery in quarantine wards, robots have been deployed to the front line to contain the spread of Covid-19.

More than 30 disinfection robots designed and produced by a Shanghai enterprise have been used in major hospitals in Wuhan, the epicenter of the outbreak, China Daily reported.

The white robot has a hydrogen peroxide sprayer on its “head” and nine ultraviolet lamps in its “belly,” and can perform multiple forms of disinfection in environments where humans and machines coexist, according to Pan Jing, CEO of Shanghai TMiRob, the manufacturer of the machines.

Navigation technology enables the robots to avoid obstacles, Pan said.

At present, such disinfection robots have been used at isolation wards, intensive care units, operating rooms and fever clinics in Wuhan’s major coronavirus hospitals including the Central Hospital of Wuhan to provide round-the-clock disinfection service, the report said.

Siasun, the country’s major robot manufacturer, donated 21 robots and 10 electric adjustable beds to frontline hospitals and other institutions in Shenyang, Liaoning province, the report said.

On the streets and in hospitals, robots are proving invaluable in the fight against Covid-19. Credit: Ti Gong/SHINE.

With advanced technologies such as laser positioning, intelligent navigation and human-computer interaction, the medical delivery robots can assist health workers with spraying disinfectants and handing out medicine to patients, the report said.

Food delivery robots, which can recognize human faces and voices, are also able to provide services to visitors from areas severely hit by the virus, so as to help people avoid close contact with others.

In Shandong province, Qingdao Webull Intelligent Technology has donated 30 disinfection robots to work in six hospitals in Qingdao and Rizhao cities since the end of January, and more robots are expected to be allocated in all of the province’s 20 hospitals, the report said.

“Intelligent robotic products can effectively replace doctors and nurses in some tasks, thus reducing their chances of being infected,” said Lu Yun, director of general surgery of the Huangdao Campus of Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University.