The Latest “Home AI Assistance”—”Dinsaw” Thai Robot to Provide Around-the-Clock Home Care for the Elderly

Thai robots are ready to enter the aging society. Chulalongkorn alumni, the founder of CT Asia Robotics Company, launched the latest version of the “Dinsaw Robot,” “Home AI Assistance,” a 24-hour home assistant for the elderly and the sick, with direct connection to the hospital in case of emergency. 

“The children and grandchildren have to go out to work. The elderly live alone. It’s hard to find a reliable caregiver. The cost is also high.” “The elderly live alone and feel lonely. Then there are health problems. They have to go to the doctor to take medications, which sometimes they forget. And when they have health problems, what would they do?” 

These questions are echoing louder and louder as Thailand moves into a full-fledged, aging society.  With more elderly, bedridden patients, and dependent people, the number of reliable caregivers, whether family members or professional personnel, is far from sufficient.  So, in the future, humans may have to rely on “robots” to enrich their quality of life. 

“In the near future, robots will come to assist humans in areas where there is a shortage of human resources, such as healthcare services. I believe robots can help reduce the burden on healthcare professionals and make caring for patients and the elderly more efficient,” said Chalermphon Punnotok, a student at the Faculty of Commerce and Accountancy, Chulalongkorn University, founder of CT Asia Robotics, referring to the development vision of “Dinsaw Robots,” especially the recently released model “Home AI Assistance.” 

The Dinsaw Robot “Home AI Assistance” model reduces the risk in homes with elderly and bedridden patients who have no caregivers, so they can feel safe and confident in their health care. This model can move around in the house and has additional functions that keep the elderly from feeling bored and lonely. Importantly, it can also connect to hospitals and help with patient care around the clock.” 

Dinsaw Robot Home AI Assistance Home Companion for the Elderly 

According to the slogan “24-Hour Monitoring and Connection with Physicians,” ‘The Home AI Assistance robot performs two main functions:  

1. Monitor the elderly and patients around the clock.
2. Connect with the hospital. 

“In the back of the robot, there is a wealth of data being connected to the hospital. The hospital also has a monitor to keep updated on the patient’s status, their whereabouts, their medical conditions, and who their physicians are,” Chalermphon continued. 

“Often, when the elderly are sick, they may hesitate whether they should go to the doctor right away. This is especially true in the middle of the night when it is difficult to get to the hospital. This model will come to the rescue. Suppose grandma is sick, coughing, and feeling very dizzy; she can talk to the nurse at the hospital through the robot. The nurse will assess the initial symptoms and diagnose whether she can just lie down to rest and take some medication or an ambulance should be dispatched.” 

The “Home AI Assistance” model has additional abilities and intelligence, such as: 

• DinsawSpond is a callback system to swiftly notify doctors or patients’ relatives to promptly contact the elderly. 
• Real Time Monitoring operating system that connects to communication devices such as smartphones or notebook computers via the internet, allowing next of kin to care for and monitor the elderly’s condition from different locations and receive alerts through an application, such as when the elderly disappear from the robot’s line of sight. 
• Vital sign monitor to send information directly to the elderly’s treating physician. This allows the doctor to collect the patient’s information without the need for them to travel to the hospital.  This includes taking their temperature and reminding the patient to take medications and take good care of their health. 

“Even better, this version of the Dinsaw Robot will be more lifelike, like a caregiver who reminds the elderly to take medicine, keeps them company, suggests activities like listening to music or dharma, playing games to keep their memory sharp, and slows down Alzheimer’s. One Dinsaw Robot is enough to take care of the elderly at home,” Chalermpon said. 

From imagination to innovation, “Dinsaw Robot for Medicine and the Elderly” 

Dinsaw Robots are well-known and have been operating in hospitals for many years as OPD nursing assistant robots. Chulalongkorn Hospital has 5 dinsaw robots, and Siriraj Hospital has 30.  When patients plug in their ID card, the robot will immediately check their medical history, doctor’s appointment, and their medical insurance status, etc. 

“I have imagined a robot as a physician’s assistant,” Chalermpol said, giving an example of Dinsaw Robot Gen 3: “We’ve developed Dinsaw Robot to help with the measurements of vitals such as blood pressure, body temperature, oxygen level, breathing, pressure point, EKG (electrocardiogram), and sleep, then send the data to the treating physician’s tablet for remote evaluation. There is also an alert system that immediately beeps when a patient has an abnormal heart rate.” 

Since his years as a student at the Faculty of Commerce and Accountancy, Chulalongkorn, Chalermphon had been interested in AI technology and saw a future where “robots” would play a larger role in human life. Upon graduation, Chalermphon started pioneering his software development and robot manufacturing business to provide robots that help enhance human quality of life, such as the use of robots in dangerous missions, “waiter” robots serving food in restaurants, and robots for elderly care and medical assistance. 

“I have a passion for creating something cool and valuable for Thailand. I want to see Thailand’s own innovation and have its own technology and brand.” Mr. Chalermpol mentioned the “Dinsaw (meaning pencil in Thai) Robot”—the brand name that he intends to convey simplicity and Thainess. 

“Dinsaw Robot” was conceived in 2009. It is a service robot that can see, communicate, and move autonomously without colliding with humans or obstacles. The company has produced robots to receive orders and serve food to many restaurants both domestically and internationally. In 2015, Chalermphon launched Dinsaw Robot for elderly care and medical assistance.  To date, Dinsaw robots are being used in more than 50 hospitals, including both public medical universities and private hospitals. 

Chalermpon mentioned the highlights of other models of Dinsaw Robots as follows: 

• Dinsaw Pro4 OPD: Designed for use in hospitals and nursing homes, Dinsaw Pro4 OPD is equipped with a rapid communication and response system that reduces the workload of healthcare professionals in outpatient care (OPD). Highlights include autonomous mobility and the ability to communicate with patients. 

• Dinsaw Mini 3 IPD: Small, compact, and suitable for home use or small medical facilities, this model can lighten the workload of nurses by recording doctors’ orders, providing medication information, receiving food orders for patients’ rooms, etc.  Highlights include the ability to connect to smart devices and AI that helps with communicating and responding to commands. This model is accepted in many countries, especially Japan. 
• Dinsaw Mini 3 Home AI: Designed for home use, Dinsaw Mini 3 Home AI is equipped with an AI system that helps to communicate with the elderly, remind them of medications and medical appointments, and provide healthcare advice. The highlight is being a helper who can learn and adapt to the needs of users. 

Elderly-Care Robots—an Industry of the Future 

In addition to hospitals in Thailand, Dinsaw Robots are also recognized by hospitals abroad, such as Germany, Sweden, and especially in Japan, where Dinsaw Mini has gained popularity, “demonstrating that we can create a valuable and internationally recognized innovation.” 

According to Chalermpol, the company plans to expand the market for Dinsaw Robots to Canada, Hong Kong, Korea, and Indonesia, all reflecting the opportunity and potential for Thailand to become a leader in the medical robotics manufacturing and patient and elderly care industries. 

“At international robotics competitions, the team from Thailand is as competitive as any other nation.  We must use our strength in AI creation to meet the country’s future needs as it is entering an aging society. It will also create value and revenue for the country.” 

AI reduces medical inequalities 

When asked about the next generation of Dinsaw Robot, “We want to make Dinsaw Robot a medical assistant that can reach everyone, whether in the city or the rural area. We want to reduce treatment inequalities and make health care accessible to everyone. If we expand the use of Dinsaw Robots countrywide to “1 sub-district, 1 Dinsaw Robot”, that would be nice.” 

Finally, Chalermpon thanked Chulalongkorn University for giving him the knowledge and opportunities to develop innovations “that create value for others” and invited the Chula Community to work together to create change for society. 

For more information, visit https://www.dinsaw.com/ 

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