This is where robots can be a real help

It may not be long before swarms of tiny mobile robots will be giving a hand to the nurses and medical orderlies in hospitals. January month has been the official launch of a new EU project led by the Fraunhofer Institute for Industrial Engineering IAO.

There is always plenty to do in a hospital, and more often than not, the staff is overworked. "This is where robots can be a real help," explains IAO scientist Thomas Schlegel, who is coordinating the new EU project IWARD. The abbreviation stands for 'intelligent robot swarm for attendance, recognition, cleaning and delivery'. "These robots could take over a wide range of tasks: find the doctor, call the nurse, keep the sick-room clean, and show visitors the way. What is more, the mobile assistants can also tell when help is needed in a sick-room, for instance when a patient has suffered a fall. Then they can alert a nurse or an orderly."

Ten teams of researchers from Germany and seven other countries will collaborate on this project. They all met on Wednesday for the official project launch in Stuttgart. Over the next three years they plan to cooperate in developing a team of robots to support hospital staff. At the end of that period, the little fleet will be tested in hospitals. "What's really new about these robots is their decentralized intelligence: Each one can act autonomously, but is also constantly in touch with its 'colleagues'. This creates a swarm with abilities that far exceed those of each individual member," explains Schlegel.

First example: Supposing robot number one is crossing a corridor and sees an orderly heading for a room that robot number two happens to be cleaning. In this case robot 1 can pass the information to robot 2, which can quickly retreat into a corner to make room for the orderly. Second example: Robot number one is in a cardiac patient's room. The nurse urgently needs to consult a cardiologist. She can use the robot to broadcast a search message that is received by all members of the squad. As soon as a member of the swarm has found the doctor, it sets up a video conference with robot 1. In this way, the cardiologist is immediately put in touch with the sick-room where his advice is needed.

The robots are to be made as small and versatile as possible, ideally measuring not more than 50 by 50 by 50 centimeters. They will be equipped with a motor and wheels, an on-board computer, a radio module, optical sensors, loudspeakers, a monitor, and cleaning tools for wiping up spills and disinfecting. "All of these components already exist. The important thing for us is not having new hardware, but advancing the development of swarm intelligence," Schlegel declares. "Our goal is to develop a program that is both powerful and extremely flexible. For example, the robots need to recognize when they are approaching sensitive equipment such as a CT scanner. They must not transmit radio signals there, as these would interfere with the imaging system. The robots can only operate autonomously in such places. Not until they have left the sensitive zones can they re-establish contact with the swarm via WLAN or Bluetooth."

In the test phase at the end of the project, three or four robots will be sent for practical testing to each of four different hospitals – and so for a few weeks, the swarm will support hospital staff in England, Spain, France and Turkey. Initially, the robots' duties will be restricted to cleaning and communications. In the long run, however, their decentralized intelligence holds much greater potential, says Schlegel: "Hospital processes are organized centrally at present, but decentralized data administration is perfectly feasible – be it for assignment of beds, for purchasing logistics, for planning the use of operating theaters, or for providing visitor information. Another of our goals in the EU project will be to find out how efficient the system is, and what new opportunities it opens up."

For further information, please contact:
Dipl.-Inform. Thomas Schlegel
Phone: +49 711 970-5308
Fraunhofer-Institut für Arbeitswirtschaft und Organisation
IAO
Allmandring 35
70569 Stuttgart

Related news article:

Most Popular Now

Stepping Hill Hospital Announced as SPAR…

Stepping Hill Hospital, part of Stockport NHS Foundation Trust, has replaced its bedside units with state-of-the art devices running a full range of information, engagement, communications and productivity apps, to...

DMEA 2025: Digital Health Worldwide in B…

8 - 10 April 2025, Berlin, Germany. From the AI Act, to the potential of the European Health Data Space, to the power of patient data in Scandinavia - DMEA 2025...

Is AI in Medicine Playing Fair?

As artificial intelligence (AI) rapidly integrates into health care, a new study by researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai reveals that all generative AI models may...

New System for the Early Detection of Au…

A team from the Human-Tech Institute-Universitat Politècnica de València has developed a new system for the early detection of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) using virtual reality and artificial intelligence. The...

Generative AI's Diagnostic Capabili…

The use of generative AI for diagnostics has attracted attention in the medical field and many research papers have been published on this topic. However, because the evaluation criteria were...

Diagnoses and Treatment Recommendations …

A new study led by Prof. Dan Zeltzer, a digital health expert from the Berglas School of Economics at Tel Aviv University, compared the quality of diagnostic and treatment recommendations...

AI Tool can Track Effectiveness of Multi…

A new artificial intelligence (AI) tool that can help interpret and assess how well treatments are working for patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) has been developed by UCL researchers. AI uses...

Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust g…

Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust has marked an important milestone in connecting busy radiologists across large parts of South East England, following the successful go live of Sectra's enterprise...

Dr Jason Broch Joins the Highland Market…

The Highland Marketing advisory board has welcomed a new member - Dr Jason Broch, a GP and director with a strong track record in the NHS and IT-enabled transformation. Dr Broch...

DMEA 2025 Ends with Record Attendance an…

8 - 10 April 2025, Berlin, Germany. DMEA 2025 came to a successful close with record attendance and an impressive program. 20,500 participants attended Europe's leading digital health event over the...

Multi-Resistance in Bacteria Predicted b…

An AI model trained on large amounts of genetic data can predict whether bacteria will become antibiotic-resistant. The new study shows that antibiotic resistance is more easily transmitted between genetically...

AI-Driven Smart Devices to Transform Hea…

AI-powered, internet-connected medical devices have the potential to revolutionise healthcare by enabling early disease detection, real-time patient monitoring, and personalised treatments, a new study suggests. They are already saving lives...