FOR his outstanding contribution in technology commercialization, a professor from the University of Santo Tomas was named the 2021 Gregorio Zara for Applied Science Research awardee by the National Academy of Science and Technology and Philippine Association for the Advancement of Science and Technology.

Assistant Prof. Anthony James Bautista of the Department of Mechanical Engineering was recognized for his invention called “Logistic Indoor Service Assistant.”

Using a tablet attached to its pole-like body, the LISA robot allows contactless interaction between the patient and health care workers. It can also be guided at will to deliver items.

“The development was made in the middle of the Covid19 pandemic last March 23, 2020 to provide an affordable telepresence robot that can be easily developed, deployed, and used by health care workers to communicate with patients and deliver small items such as medicine,” Bautista said.

“There is an urgency to source out any existing robotics components that were available in the robotics laboratory in order accomplish the huge task of inventing units of LISA robots,” he added.

The invention received funding from the University of Santo Tomas and the Department of Science and Technology.

With his achievement, Bautista now belongs to the other five Thomasian scientists who received the award.

Gregorio Y. Zara was a notable Filipino engineer and physicist whose main contribution was the first two-way electronic videophone.