June 18, 2010 by Eddy Philipe
Imagine a world where you got up in the morning, lazed about for a while, packed your robot off to work for you, and read a book in the back garden all day. Seem unlikely? Perhaps that moment is closer than you think!
A hospital in Scotland is all set to hire a new fleet of mechanical staff – robots. The willing helpers will be able to remove clinical waste, deliver food, clean the operating theatre and dispense drugs. This is a giant step forward in the field of technology, meaning the hospital has to hire fewer humans on the workforce, getting their metal team to do the arduous work instead.
The robots are currently undergoing final tests prior to the opening of the new £300m Forth Valley Royal Hospital in Larbert, Stirlingshire, In August. By developing a new network of corridors beneath the hospital premises, the NHS team have been able to map out where and how the robots will undertake their chores.
NHS Forth Valley chairman Ian Mullen commented that the new hospital would be “packed full of design features to improve patient care and improve the life of staff. Members of staff will use a hand-held PDA to call up the robot to move meal trays, or linen, or whatever. The robot will come up in the service lift by itself, pick up the item and go back into the lift.”
The robots will follow a pre-programmed system of routes to get to where they need to be, using laser to determine their location and move from place to place. In-built computers will open doors using sensors, so the robots can tell if there is anyone in the way, and navigate about safely.
This is a huge step forward in the battle to control infection, as tasks can now be separated in terms of clean or dirty, meaning that some robots will only be required to undertake roles which carry an infection risk. Others can focus upon jobs such as delivering food and dispensing drugs.
You’re probably wondering right now if there are any stairs in the hospital, thinking back to the issues daleks used to have on Doctor Who. The hospital has not yet reported back about this practical issue.
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