The existence of Workerbot9, a German assistance robot made by a company called Pi4, implies the existence of Workerbots 1 through 8. You may never see them, or the ninth edition, unless you’re scheduled for surgery. Either way, at least the medical assistant isn’t as intimidating as a proper humanoid. Unless you’re a medical professional.
That’s because the robot is already working in some wards, taking over “logistics tasks”. Mostly this entails nabbing medical supplies from cupboards and putting them where they’re supposed to be. Workerbot9 will, eventually, also be repurposed as an entertainment device. It’s not like the company that makes them has failed to note the large screen on its chest. They won’t trundle around showing Netflix, however. Reading aloud and crossword puzzles are suggested activities.
The rise of Workerbot9
Both of those are handy uses of a vaguely human-shaped robot. Each would likely spend time in a single ward, where the major obstacles are doors. Once the robot’s upgrades — a gripper arm and a sensor/software update — are in place, it should manage to open cupboards to stock up on everything nurses need every day. Except, maybe, patience with patients.
Right now, the robot is being pitched at and demonstrated for medical professionals without these upgrades. In its standard configuration, the 1.66-metre-tall robot acts as a security guard. It won’t manage to arrest anyone, but it will capture faces and let the control room yell at intruders over the two-way audio link.
Workerbot9 also has a setup for delivering food and drinks. It’s easy to picture one delivering snacks on a FlySafair flight instead of the flight attendants, but it would serve just as well in a medical setting. The folks in beds are fed at least three times a day… unless they’re due for surgery. Perhaps an anti-mugging feature would be a requirement in the latter case.
Pi4 Robotics already has these modular robots in production. Even so, it’ll still be some time before Workerbot is cleared to work with humans. The project will first spend time at the Berlin Simulation and Training Center. After that, it’s off to a pilot program at a hospital ward in Charité. Before any of that, Workerbot9 is being presented at the German Nursing Day convention in Berlin, taking place today and tomorrow.
Source (German)
