Artificial Intelligence Improves Robot Traffic at Hospital
At the Hospital of Southern Jutland in Aabenraa, Denmark, a MiR100 robot from Mobile Industrial Robots delivers food and returns with the dishes to the hospital kitchen four times a day. On its way, it deftly avoids trash cans, trolleys, scooters, porters with empty beds, groups of employees on foot, as well as other logistics robots.
The Danish robot has AI features that solve the issue of different robots meeting in narrow doorways, blocking traffic by waiting for each other. An AI camera can distinguish robots from other obstacles, including people or other moving objects. The AI camera improves the robot traffic, ensuring the internal logistics of Aabenraa Hospital runs smoothly and efficiently.
Automated internal transport provides benefits for management and employees. Previously, kitchen staffers had to walk to hospital departments and pick up the used service. Now they can click on a tablet, and the robot comes to fetch the dishes.
“Those who used to drive the carts are happy to let go. Instead, they spend time cooking. It gives greater job satisfaction,” explains logistics manager Hans-Jacob Madsen.
Porter manager Tom Johansen agrees:
“Robot technology must release hands to patients and improve the working environment. The porters have tasks with postures that are hard at the shoulders and legs, as well as some inconvenient repetitive movements. I expect to see many more robots in hospitals, both collaborative and fully automated, that take on the pull, lift and push.”