Robots continue to find their way into the medical field, with a fleet of 25 autonomous machines planned to help their human doctors at a new hospital in San Francisco.
The robot, called Eve, looks like a refrigerator and is designed to carry heavy loads of equipment and travel to different parts of the hospital, such as the pharmacy, kitchen, lab and stock rooms, to provide supplies to employees, according to CNET. The goal is to relieve staff from carrying heavy loads across long distances.
The University of California, San Francisco, Medical Center at Mission Bay measures 800,000 square feet, spanning almost three football fields, and includes 289 beds. While robots like Eve are used at almost 160 other hospitals, UCSF's fleet of machines is the biggest in the world.
Eve, built by Pittsburgh-based company Aethon, knows the best ways to get around the complex thanks to its programming, and it will act as an assistant to its human co-workers rather than as their replacements.
"Tissue samples, blood samples need to get from point A to point B very fast. You can't afford to wait for someone to show up," said Ken Goldberg, professor of robotics at University of California at Berkeley. "The robot that never gets distracted, never stops for coffee, could be great for these critical deliveries."
Eve's features include 30 infrared and sonar sensors, as well as a laser and camera for identifying when people are in front of it, CNET reported. Scheduled and on-demand tasks assigned to the robot include delivering 1,000 meals to patients each day, picking up dirty trays and delivering medicine, with the goal being to make deliveries in 45 minutes or less.
UCSF's robots come with a charging bay that allow them to work a full day after being charged for only four hours, and they can travel as fast as the average person's walking speed. The hospital's wireless network allows the machines to communicate with each other as well as with the building's 20 elevators and hundreds of doors. When it confronts an obstacle in its way, the robot will say "Please stand aside."
The robots also know 70 phrases in different accents, such as English and Australian, and male and female voices, CNET reported. They are also multi-lingual, as they can speak Spanish.
Josh Addler, chief medical officer of UCSF Medical Center, says Eve will allow staff to be more efficient and reliable.
"They're so much more reliable for delivering things where they need to be on time," Addler said. "That allows our staff to focus on things that people do as wel l- caring, decision-making, supporting."
Eve and its robotic partners will begin helping out doctors and patients when San Francisco's new hospital opens on Feb. 1.
