Hospital logistics · Buyer's guide
How to Specify a Hospital Logistics Robot
Scoping a hospital delivery robot well is what separates a fleet that staff rely on from one that gathers dust. Here is the practical checklist we walk every hospital through.
A hospital logistics robot is only valuable if it fits the way your hospital actually moves things. Before you compare vendors, it pays to define the problem precisely. The questions below are the same ones our engineers ask at the start of every project.
1. Payload and compartments
Start with what you move most: medication, sterile supplies, documents, meals or specimens. Each implies a different compartment design. A pharmacy route may need lockable, access-controlled bins with tamper logging; a supply route may need one large 60 kg cart-replacement volume. Map your top five payloads and their weights, sizes and security needs.
2. Routes, floors and elevators
List the departments, floors and typical journeys. Multi-floor operation requires the robot to call elevators and pass automatic doors autonomously — confirm your elevator protocol early, as integration effort varies by building. Corridor width, ramp gradients and door types all shape the chassis footprint.
3. Navigation and safety
Busy hospital corridors demand robust autonomy: LiDAR plus vision SLAM, dynamic obstacle avoidance and human-presence slow-down. Ask how the robot behaves in crowds, at blind corners and during emergencies, and how it recovers from a blocked path without staff intervention.
4. Fleet scheduling and uptime
One robot is a demo; a fleet is a service. A central scheduler should assign tasks to the best-placed robot, balance load and manage charging automatically so coverage never drops. Clarify how many concurrent tasks and robots the system supports.
5. Integration with your systems
The biggest efficiency gains come when the robot is dispatched by your existing systems. Look for an open API so your HIS or ward systems can create tasks by event and pull delivery records for audit and analytics — not a closed console staff have to operate manually.
6. Certification and procurement
Confirm CE and ISO processes, EMC and safety testing, and the documentation your market and customs require. Agree warranty, spare parts and remote support up front.
7. Pilot, then scale
De-risk the investment: pilot in one department, measure the results — staff walking time saved, on-time delivery rate, turnaround — then scale across the hospital with the lessons built in. A good partner will size the robot to your building rather than push a fixed catalogue.
The bottom line: specify the problem, not the product. Bring your floor count, departments and the items you move most, and a capable custom manufacturer will translate that into a feasible configuration — and tell you honestly what is and isn't worth automating.