Texas hospital deploys intelligent robot to help overburdened nurses

Despite ongoing threats from hackers, US healthcare units are not afraid to introduce smart robots to help care for patients. The latest proof comes from Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas, which has agreed to pilot a nurse robot to relieve overburdened nursing staff.

Moxi, as Diligent Robotics has named her, is reportedly intended to reduce some of the physical and mental strain faced by nurses today. While Moxi won’t be giving shots to patients, she will lend a hand with the logistics: fetching and restocking supplies or setting up patient rooms for new admissions. Her makers have created this neat video to show off her abilities:

By conducting the nursing team’s non-patient-facing logistical tasks, she gives the staff more time to focus on patient care.

According to the robot’s fact sheet, Moxi has LiDAR cameras that let her accurately measure the distance to objects she’s about to pick and store in her “pouch.” The AI-driven Moxi is also said to navigate the tightest of corridors without bumping into people or walls.

Diligent says Moxi is socially intelligent. She features several “nodes of expression,” including indicative movements by her LED eyes and head. This, according to the creators, makes people feel comfortable around her. Case in point, going by the video uploaded by the institution’s management (embedded below), Moxi looks right at home at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital.

Bad actors will be the first to tell you that the Internet of Things (IoT) landscape is notoriously ripe for the picking, as vendors often rush their products to market with default admin passwords and lax factory testing against cyber-attacks. However, considering Moxi’s mission, we trust Diligent Robotics designed her with security in mind – after all, when human lives are at stake, there is very little room for error.