Beer to Bandages: MobileRobots MT400 Gets a New Job
Writing by Greg Intermaggio on Monday, 1 of March , 2010 at 3:06 am
Remember that one bot that we poked fun at for its price tag? Okay, maybe that’s a bit too broad a description. Remember the MobileRobots MT400? Still not ringing a bell? It’s the one that can bring you beer.
Now that we’ve got that settled, it seems CCS Robotics has taken an interest in the MobileRobots MT400, and is collaborating with Swisslog Healthcare to create bots that can roam hospitals and perform such important tasks as carrying medicine from one point to another. Wait a second. Isn’t that the same thing that our beer bot did, except that now the beer is medicine and hospital supplies? Well… yes. As far as we can tell, CCS Robotics has strapped a plastic bin on top of the MT400, and called it an innovation (though by all means, correct us if we’re wrong).
Yes, new research is important. Sure, the spatial mapping robot that MobileRobots also designed has merit. But really guys, really? How can you justify a cost in the tens of thousands of dollars for a kit that has arguably less versatility than a $279 LEGO kit?
[ CCS Robotics ] VIA [ Smart-Machines ]
Comments (5)
Category: Medical
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Comment by Loco
Made Monday, 1 of March , 2010 at 3:56 am
As soon as it becomes some kind of medical product it is ridiculous expensive, I guess.
Comment by XV-745
Made Monday, 1 of March , 2010 at 11:31 am
This seems silly. Unless this thing has a built in taser (a la R2-D2) and some method for distinguishing authorized from unauthorized personnel, it’s going to need a lock-box on top or it’s going to have to stay within restricted areas in the hospital. Otherwise, any random person in the hallway could help themselves to whatever the robot’s carrying at the moment.
There are tons of scenarios where robots are or will be the best solution (assisted surgery, manufacturing, search & rescue, etc.). But “carrying things across the hall” is probably best left to an overworked, underpaid intern who will at least put up a fight if someone attempts to steal the morphine they’re carrying…
And as for fetching beer, that task has never made it anywhere near the top of my list of things I wish I didn’t have to deal with. I want a robot to do the laundry, wash and put away the dishes, and clean the house from top to bottom. I’ll get my own beer.
Comment by Mike Henry
Made Monday, 1 of March , 2010 at 2:48 pm
Considering how overworked the nurses and staff of hospitals are in today’s hospitals, it is not a bad idea to find a way to ease their job load. However, carrying medicine may not be the best way to do that. As stated in the comment above, transporting controlled substances around in a robot could be a security problem. If that issue can be addressed, then maybe this robot makes sense (cents?) at the price.
Seems to me that a robotic meal delivery system would go a long way to help the staff, but I think these types of robots are already in use in some hospitals.
Now, if you really wanted a useful robot, how about a robot that empties the bedpans?
Comment by Intermaggio
Made Monday, 1 of March , 2010 at 2:55 pm
Then I guess the real question is how long does it take a robot like this to pay for itself– in other words, if I was running a hospital and I had the choice of paying some poor fellow minimum wage to run supplies from A to B, or purchasing one of these bots to do it for me, which one would make more fiscal sense- in the short term? In the long term?
Comment by Evan Ackerman
Made Monday, 1 of March , 2010 at 4:28 pm
This is really the root of the problem, IMO… Even though robots may make more long term sense, it’s difficult to justify them considering the cost of cheap human labor, which has the added advantage of being infinitely more adaptable (if potentially less secure).
The other issue is that in the time it would take for a multi-thousand dollar robot to pay for itself, newer robots are going to come out that are going to be exponentially better as well as exponentially cheaper. Computers have the same issue: by the time you decide what system you want, buy it, and get it up and running, it’s got maybe a few months at best before it’s obsolete. Moore’s Law FTL.
