National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), has assured management and students of Glisten International Academy, Jahi, Abuja, of its support towards its innovation of a robot, Marabot, to fight COVID-19.
Dr Amina Sambo-Magaji, the National Coordinator, Office for ICT Innovation and Entrepreneurship (OIIE), a subsidiary of NITDA, gave the assurance on Monday during a virtual meeting with the school.
She assured them of adoption by relevant government agencies at state and federal level as soon as the product was ready for use, as well as a television feature and visibility on its social media platforms.
Sambo-Magaji commended students of the school for coming up with such innovation at a tender age and urged them to upgrade to the next level. ”We have international affiliates. We also have hubs in FCT and all over the country that we can attach you to, which can assist you with your innovation and help improve your skills in artificial intelligence,” she said.
Earlier, some of the students had a video demonstration of the robot they invented to enhance the operations of front line medical personnel who are most vulnerable to Coronavirus.
The school’s robotics team referred to as Glisten makerspace education came up with the innovation in response to the increasing numbers of COVID-19 infection cases and the affect on front line health workers.
Marabot which is a collaborative effort of the Glisten makerspace education team was created virtually with the help of coaches and brilliant design ideas uploaded by students on robotics learning Management System platforms.
The coaches are: Adeniyi Ogedengbe, Pius Emeka, Mayowa Taiwo, and the Executive Director of the school, Mr Abb Saidu. It is noteworthy that Mairabot which is remotely controlled has a memory capacity of 16 gigabytes, a Nigerian cultural outlook, and was created from waste materials.
Mairabot also comprises six artificial intelligence features that aid movement, memorisation, interaction, navigation, capturing and courier. In addition, Mairabot’s behaviour is customised using Google Blocks programming software and it can be remotely controlled from a distance of 120 feet using an android-based application.
The innovation of Mairabot would aid the Federal Government in its fight against virus and also the UN Sustainable Development Goal 3, in achieving ‘’Good health and well-being’’.
From the video monitored online, Mairabot has the capability to navigate in between beds in a hospital ward, supports and saves live video sessions between doctors and patients in isolation.
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