Outfitting your hospital for the new wave of robots

Automated materials handling systems have provided dramatic labor savings and efficiency benefits to healthcare facilities. A growing trend is the use of a new breed of service robots that provide automated materials handling without major modifications to the existing building. The robots navigate through hallways, go through doors and ride elevators using a computerized controller that contains a layout of each floor of the hospital; the robots do not rely on any type of physical track to guide them on their way. The robots are programmed to pick up or deliver supplies to nursing stations or other departments, and determine the best route. Purchase and rental options exist at a substantial savings over human labor.