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Medbot targets pharmacy deliveries for hospitals and other medical facilities. | Credit: Richtech Robotics

Richtech Robotics just unveiled its newest autonomous mobile robot (AMR): Medbot. The mobile robot provides round-the-clock medication deliveries for pharmacy operations. Medbot joins a mature lineup of AMRs designed for specialized operations in autonomous floor cleaning, hotel delivery, and hospitality.

“At Richtech Robotics, we’re passionate about pioneering solutions to mitigate workplace inefficiencies and build systems that address relevant industry concerns,” said Matt Casella, president of Richtech Robotics. “With a track record of success across the hospitality and service sectors, adapting our products to enhance conditions for the healthcare workforce and infrastructure was a natural progression for us. Finding a way to offload routine daily tasks for healthcare workers has been a pain point for many years, and we’re excited to launch an innovative solution to help hospitals gain a competitive edge.”

Casella was a recent guest on The Robot Report Podcast. He discussed Richtech Robotics’ business and its ADAM bartending robot.

Many robot companies have attempted to launch hospital pharmacy delivery robots in the past. The use case is an important one, as patient care is the number one priority. In this environment, reliability and ease of use are the keys to a successful deployment.

Hospitals also function across multiple floors and require robust elevator interfaces for the mobile robots to move between floors autonomously while completing their missions. Elevator control has been difficult for most automation vendors to deploy, and Richtech is marketing Medbot with this key functionality. The company claims to have solved elevator interaction with the early generation of hotel delivery robots.

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Key product features for the Richtech MedBot

• Elevator integration: Ensures operation across complex spaces
• Four storage spaces: Holds up to 3.17 gallons each and can be opened one at a time if desired
• Smooth delivery: Works across versatile flooring, helping navigate dense crowds or cluttered spaces
• Large touchscreen display: User-friendly interface to schedule deliveries and see real-time insights
• Ultrasonic sensors (8) and cameras (2): Provides heightened obstacle detection and avoidance
• IoT enablement: Exchanges data with other devices and systems (e.g. smart doors)

Richtech said early customers have deployed the robots for missions moving from pharmacy to in-patient units and emergency departments, chemotherapy preparations to infusion centers, pharmacy-to-pharmacy/intra-pharmacy transport, and “meds-to-beds” discharge medications from the outpatient pharmacy to the patient’s nurse.

Following the COVID-19 pandemic, hospitals are facing staff shortages. Automating boring tasks like pharmacy delivery enables key nursing and support staff to remain on call and attentive to patients.

“Amid rising operating expenses and a surge in patient numbers across the country, Medbot strives to empower healthcare facilities with superior care, despite staffing shortages. Our Medbot integration method is the only one on the market that has been proven to consistently work,” said Casella.

Specifications

Dimensions: 103 x 52 x 49 cm (3.4’ x 1.7’ x 1.6’)

Payload: 32.8kg (88 lbs)