The Finch Centre is training a new recruit at the COVID-19 screening desk.
This Fall, Pepper the social screening robot, developed at the Autonomous Systems and Biomechatronics Laboratory (ASBLab) in the Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering at the University of Toronto, will conduct daily screening for employees on their way in to work a scheduled shift. Pepper will engage in its first screening assignment at Yee Hong, to begin shortly.
Pepper will take temperature readings, ask the standard COVID-19 screening questionnaire and also ask employees to put on a mask. The robot can also confirm if the mask is put on correctly, and will wish employees a great day as they head in.
Pepper’s work is a research trial made possible by Yee Hong’s partnership with the ASBLab, directed by Professor Goldie Nejat. PhD student Cristina Getson has been developing Pepper’s functionality and testing it on-site so that it can join the Finch Centre. Funding support for this project is through the AGE-WELL Inc. national network.
COVID-19 screening with the robot is contactless. The robot cannot become infected with the virus and the screening area is designed to eliminate the risk of cross-contamination. Pepper will also help with line-ups at busy times: queues are common early in the morning and at the shift change in the afternoon, when dozens of employees enter the building at the same time.
Human screeners stationed beside the robot remain in charge of the process, and will continue to screen all visitors. Everyone entering a Yee Hong Centre, including staff, contractors, residents and their guests, will continue to be checked for COVID-19 symptoms and exposure.