Automating Logistics Within NHS Hospitals
Milton Keynes University Hospital
The Problem
UNDERSTANDING TTO
Increased demand on logistical activities such as the movement of medicines, specimens, and clinical supplies around a hospital is leading to delays to care in hospitals across the UK.
Academy of Robotics has been working with Milton Keynes University Hospital (MKUH) NHS Foundation Trust to create and trial a delivery robot or “Helper Bot” to help speed up hospital processes and relieve pressure on staff. It follows a year of technological development in close collaboration with staff across the hospital
This is the problem we wanted to solve.
Automation Can Help
CAN AUTOMATION HELP?
Milton Keynes University Hospital, a pioneering NHS Trust, reached out to Academy of Robotics, one of Britain’s leading technology companies. Academy of Robotics had already used its human contact-free automated delivery vehicles to deliver medicines to homes. By applying the technology it uses to avoid collisions and navigate on a road to a robot, it can also deliver medicines inside a hospital, reducing the waiting time and helping patients to get home sooner.
Designing the Solution
WHY NOT JUST HIRE MORE PEOPLE?
Since the Covid-19 pandemic, support staff in NHS hospitals have had to deal with an increasing workload fuelled by staff shortages and rising demand for clinical services. MKUH porters and messengers already do around 30,000 steps a day as they get called to every part of the hospital.
Academy of Robotics designs robots to be there when they are needed and out of the way when they are not.
By automating certain tasks, we can free up time for hospital staff to do the jobs that people do best. Robots are also a particularly helpful solution for handling fluctuation in demand: It’s very early days, but we could have a system of shared access to a pool of additional robots which can be deployed to hospitals in a set area as and when needed.
Designing the Solution
HOW CAN ROBOTS HELP THE HOSPITAL TEAM?
To make sure we were using the robots where they were needed most and making the most of the technology, Academy of Robotics set up and ran design-thinking workshops with hospital staff to look at the other ways the robots could be used to assist different teams in their daily work both today and into the future.
For those unable to attend these workshops we also set up a website to crowdsource ideas from the whole team.
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Representatives from across the hospital (from pharmacy to waste teams) joined the groups
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Ideas were shared with the whole group and then collectively ranked in order of priority
The robot speaks your language 
The robot has the capacity to speak and introduce itself in multiple languages and Academy of Robotics is currently working with hospital staff to understand how speech and translation functions can best be put to use in the hospital.
Naming the Robot
WHAT SHOULD THE ROBOT LOOK LIKE?
Academy of Robotics published a job ad for designers to work on its new projects and received over 100 applicants.
The applicants were then shortlisted down to around a select group who were invited to contribute to the project.
Each designer submitted 5 designs which were reviewed by hospital management and then put to a vote by hospital staff via the project website.
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CHOOSING THE CONCEPT
REFINING THE CONCEPT
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CREATING THE 3D MODEL
Producing the Robot
HELLO MY NAME IS...?
Once we all knew what the robot would look like, it was time to decide on a name
The robot needed a name that would be welcomed as part of the team by the hospital team and put patients at ease so Academy of Robotics handed the job to those that do this best and set up a competition with hospital staff to name the bot.
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DISPLAYS AROUND THE HOSPITAL
INTRODUCING THE DESIGN CONCEPT
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GATHERING SUGGESTIONS
We designed displays around the hospital where staff could post their suggestions and received hundreds of suggestions.
The names were then checked for trademarks and other issues and then added to a website where the hospital team could vote for their favourite name.
Building the Bot
BUILDING THE BOT
In producing the physical body of the robot, Academy of Robotics needed to take into account factors like: ease of cleaning; how well it could cope with the wear and tear of a hospital environment; accessibility; interacting with children and how the technology would work within the design
ROBOT EXTERIOR
First the mould needed to be created and then refined
INSTALLING THE ROBOTIC TECHNOLOGY
Then the motors, sensors and robotic technology were configured
Teaching the Robot
TEACHING THE ROBOT
At Academy of Robotics’ HQ, the company has a former Cold War bunker which is over 4 acres in size, with corridors similar to those in a typical hospital in the UK.
The team recreated a hospital environment complete with real hospital furniture in this underground bunker to allow the robot to “learn” in a supervised environment before taking it into the hospital.
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Navigating around obstacles such as hospital beds
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Milton can operate almost entirely on solar power.
MEET THE HELPER BOTS
MILTON
THE HELPER BOT
Milton can: carry medicines from one location to another safely and securely within a hospital;
Introduce itself and explain what it is doing;
Speak 9 languages to help patients and provide translation support for NHS staff.
MILTON
THE HELPER BOT
Milton can: carry medicines from one location to another safely and securely within a hospital;
Introduce itself and explain what it is doing;
Speak 9 languages to help patients and provide translation support for NHS staff.
MILTON
THE HELPER BOT
Milton can: carry medicines from one location to another safely and securely within a hospital;
Introduce itself and explain what it is doing;
Speak 9 languages to help patients and provide translation support for NHS staff.
MEETING PATIENTS
In an effort to make patients comfortable with the appearance of our robots in the hospital, Academy of Robotics worked with the hospital team to find ways to introduce patients to the robot and make it a familiar character in the hospital.
We are producing activity sheets for kids, stickers and badges and leaflets to explain how the robots were helping in the hospital and we also trained the robot to introduce itself!
REMOTE MONITORING
Academy of Robotics is able to monitor the robots in hospital from our mobile remote Command Station, our “Space-Bus.”From here the team can oversee all aspects of the operation and remotely take over control if necessary.
Academy of Robotics team to introduce new technology that can work alongside our existing workforce to facilitate faster delivery and take some of the pressure off our teams.”
Professor Joe Harrison
Chief Executive at Milton Keynes University Hospital
This trial is an opportunity to test the safety and efficacy of this technology and we will continue to work closely with all teams involved to understand how it can be most effectively utilised in the future.
Professor Joe Harrison
Chief Executive at Milton Keynes University Hospital
Across the hospital, our Pharmacy team does an incredible job to ensure that our patients receive the medication they need to return home in a timely manner. .
Professor Joe Harrison
Chief Executive at Milton Keynes University Hospital
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