With the unpredictable health crisis of COVID-19 continuing to place high demands on hospitals, PAL Robotics is building a solution.
The TIAGo Delivery robot, which will soon be deployed in hospitals, following a winning proposal submitted to the European DIH-Hero project.
The robot will deliver objects such as food, medication, blood and medical samples, and surgical supplies. The first robots in this project will operate in hospitals in Barcelona from July.
Hospitals are continuing to search for more efficient solutions, including those that reduce time pressure on hospital staff, lessen the need for social interactions and lower the spread of infection.
Accerion sensors are being integrated onto the TIAGo Delivery robot currently, following this the first prototype will be produced, then full manufacturing and set up of the new robots will begin.
With the direct consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the indirect consequences, such as social distancing, organisations are increasingly turning to automated solutions including robots to meet changing needs.
PAL Robotics has a number of robotic solutions ready to help in healthcare, however TIAGo Delivery is the first robot to be officially launched in hospitals.
TIAGo Delivery with Accerion sensors is being developed following the acceptance of a joint proposal from the project partners to DIH Hero in response to their open Call, ‘Fighting COVID-19 2020 for healthcare robotics.’ TIAGo Delivery is an existing solution; the robot is one of several solutions designed by PAL Robotics that can be easily integrated on top of the TIAGo Base robot. TIAGo Delivery is able to transport items around hospitals and has an even better accuracy in its positioning thanks to the cutting-edge sensors by Accerion, reducing the deployment time of the whole solution.
Accerion provides positioning solutions, enabling high-performance mobile robots and AGVs for intralogistics, with virtual lines or grid mapping to allow for free navigation. The advanced technology inside the system enables submillimetre-level positioning without any additional infrastructure. In their portfolio are the Jupiter and Triton sensor systems, which can be quickly and easily integrated into robots and other mobile platforms to make them completely autonomous or enhance their sensing capabilities such as with the TIAGo Delivery robot.
Francesco Ferro, CEO of PAL Robotics says in relation to this project: “We are delighted to be developing our TIAGo Delivery robot with the latest in sensor technology to be able to help in the fight against COVID-19 in hospitals, through improving delivery processes and reducing social interactions and infection rates.”
