Abstract
Timely and regular treatment of the physically disabled, bedridden, and elderly is a mandated health requirement. A multi-purpose voice-controlled patient care robot (VCPAR) designed and implemented for on-demand drug, food, and liquid delivery in natural language is presented in this paper. In contrast to conventional button/joystick-based or human-attention-based robotic systems, the approach utilizes Arduino-based control, Bluetooth communication, and speech recognition to facilitate completely hands-free usage. IR sensor-based obstacle sensing and accurate actuating devices ensure safe transport and efficient dispensing of goods. Another of the research's novel contributions is its low-cost, locally manufactured, and multimodal platform for use in resource-constrained settings where advanced healthcare robots are cumbersome. Experimental findings demonstrate agreement with voice instructions from the patient at a distance of 10 m or less from Bluetooth, precise delivery of objects with minimal latency, and greater user control compared to current semi-automatic systems. The project aims to explore the potential of low-cost voice-controlled robots for maximum patient autonomy, caregivers' load reduction, and new opportunities for smart healthcare support systems. Intellectually enabled assistive technology has been in high demand due to the increasing numbers of elderly, bedridden, and physically disabled patients who otherwise need to remain constantly supervised and receive timely interventions.
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