An Automated Robotic System for Nasopharyngeal Sampling Toward Safe and Repeated Operation

The COVID-19 pandemic caused millions of deaths and lasting societal impacts, showing that traditional swab collection methods place heavy burdens and infection risks on healthcare workers (HCWs). Recently developed sampling robots offer alternatives, but the possibility of contact-related infection remains. This study presents a robotic nasopharyngeal (NP) specimen collection system designed for automated NP sampling with limited HCW involvement. The system integrates a booth-structured enclosure, robotic manipulator, collaborative modules, and automation workflow. The robot controller combines camera-based visual servoing for initial swab alignment with compliant feedback control for safe and accurate insertion. Experiments confirmed precise alignment, safe force regulation, and completion of a sampling cycle within acceptable time and contact force. A survey of healthcare professionals reported high satisfaction with the contactless environment, disinfection system, and workload reduction. The proposed system demonstrates the feasibility of highly automated NP sampling for minimizing direct HCW exposure to infectious agents during large-scale specimen collection.