A white-colored, feminine-looking android was standing imperturbably inside a lab of Cairo’s Ain Shams University, with members of her development team and reports checking a touch screen on her chest.

The android was the latest invention of some students and faculty members of Egypt’s Ain Shams University, who hoped the robot, equipped with specialized software and medical kits, could help medical workers and patients during the pandemic.

The robotic nurse was named “Shams,” meaning the Sun in Arabic, because it is a common Arab female name and part of the university’s full name.

Esraa Tarek, a teaching assistant at the faculty, stood next to Shams in the middle of the computer lab and explained how the robotic nurse could help reduce direct communication between medics and infected patients.