The HospiBot: a robot offering kindness and care in the health sector

Imagine how much time it took to do your laundry before washing machines were invented, think about how kitchen appliances shorten the time to prepare a meal. As much as scepticism comes natural when new technologies enter our lives, it would be difficult to think about how much more work we would be doing if the technologies we rely on stopped working suddenly. This also applies to robots, the next step in our societies technical progress, maybe not so much a threat to our jobs as it is a help for overwhelmed professionals. This is the case of healthcare professional between Denmark and Germany, where serious shortage of medical staff and more and more people requiring care prompts the need for innovative solutions. This is where the HospiBot comes in. This friendly machine has come a long way from its humble origins as a hand sanitiser dispenser, multiplying its functions and evolving into a versatile, interactive assistant which is capable of lending a hand in the often-hectic daily routine of a hospital.

Danish-German know-how develops the HospiBot

The HospiBot has been developed and tested in a Danish-German collaboration. With € 1.7 million worth of EU funding under the Interreg Deutschland-Danmark programme, partners from both sides of the Danish-German bring to the table their specific skills and expertise on matters of robot design and development of new user interfaces. The complementary skills of the Danish and German partners advances the HospiBot’s functionality, operational reliability and ensure that the HospiBot is intuitive and easy to use.

From hand sanitiser to helper

From its initial function as a hand sanitiser robot, developers realised its potential as a mobile service unit. During the testing phase in hospitals in Denmark and Germany, medical staff came forward with new requests for the functionality of the robot, a way for progress to account for the operational needs of healthcare professionals.  

The robot makes time for kindness and care

The shortage of nurses and doctors is a very real challenge for society. Despite not being a realistic replacement for healthcare staff in hospitals, technological and digital solutions such as the HospiBot can support them with minor menial tasks: “The HospiBot is able to take over monotonous and time-consuming tasks which frees up the nurses’ time for more patient-centred care”. Says Janina Thöns, healthcare and nursing professional at University Hospital Schleswig-Holstein in Kiel. This way personnel can use their time to administer actual health services, instead of running around as Thöns explains: “The robot can be used to transport medicine and equipment, for example. This means that the nurses avoid having to walk the miles and miles that they would otherwise have to during a normal working day. This is an important help as it allows time for more hands-on care,”

The HospiBot was also tested at University Hospital Schleswig-Holstein where it was used to greet and guide patients and was generally met with positive reactions. 

As one of the first hospitals to show an interest in HospiBot, the Hans Christian Andersen Children’s Hospital in Odense is to be credited for many of the of the updates the prototype underwent. There, staff wanted a solution that could also entertain the children and assist parents – which meant that a whole new range of applications was explored. “I have coordinated and observed several tests of the HospiBot at the Children’s Hospital. We’ve provided feedback on the functions and design of the robot to ensure that it was safe and acceptable in a hospital environment. Most people are very curious and have shown great interest

in the HospiBot,” says Mette Sorang Kjær, social worker and welfare coordinator at the Hans Christian Andersen Children’s Hospital.

But the applications for HospiBot do not stop here, as the machine can be used to greet patients and visitors or guide them through the hospital, allowing humans to take care of the more delicate tasks. From the Kiel University Hospital, project manager Felix Prell explains that “Many visitors and patients showed great interest in the HospiBot which was also received well by the older target group. Some people wanted the HospiBot not only to give them directions, but also to take them directly to their appointment location. The project group has looked at this proposal and will be testing it in a future version of the HospiBot. Many hospital employees look forward to the HospiBot taking on tasks such as giving directions and running errands as this means that they’ll have more time for actual patient care,”

The HospiBot greets visitors and will in future help them to navigate through the hospital as well as undertake small logistical tasks. The robot arouses interest among both the old and the young and works as an icebreaker in an environment that may often feel overwhelming.

One of the most moving situations involving the HospiBot took place at the Children’s Hospital. A clown cheering up the young patients of the pediatric ward involved the robot in his act and used it as a prop, pretending the machine needed a plaster. The children participated eagerly, recalls Oskar Palinko, lecturer from the University of Southern Denmark, “I have observed many interactions with our robot, but I remember this one as something really special. This unexpected interaction between the children, the hospital clown and our robot was a heart-warming moment for me”.

Fostering cross-border cooperation

Funding under the Interreg programme was crucial in fostering cooperation between different partners across the Danish-German border. As Leon Bodenhagen - project coordinator and lecturer at the University of Southern Denmark explains - “The collaboration between the Danish and German partners is important because it brings together different, but complementary project resources and skills. We’re expanding our horizon, and this makes it possible to identify a more universal solution that takes different market needs into account. By understanding and learning from each other’s approaches and experiences, we can ensure that the HospiBot becomes an advanced and user-friendly solution”. The work on viable solutions to alleviate the workload of healthcare professionals through robotics is not over: robots still face a range of limitations. Limited interactive ability, clumsy designs that do not fit easily into narrow hospital corridors are still hurdles that need to be overcome. But the aim of the HospiBot project is to develop and test a mobile, interactive service robot in a compact design for use in hospitals.

The project also draws up political recommendations that include guidelines for the use of mobile service robots in hospital environments. “We believe that with current technological, digital and demographic trends, robots will increasingly be used to provide support in the future. The use of robots such as the HospiBot requires a positive attitude to technology, open communication and specific guidelines to ensure that everyone is able to participate. The HospiBot isn’t just a piece of technology. It’s a helping hand,” says Oskar Palinko.

On the Danish side, partners comprise the University of Southern Denmark, Robotics, Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller Institute, South Jutland Hospital Aabenraa, Zealand University Hospital, Roskilde and Odense University Hospital. From Germany, the partners include University Hospital Schleswig-Holstein, Fraunhofer Research Institution for Individualized and Cell-Based Medical Engineering, University of Lübeck and Kiel University of Applied Sciences.

Less work, better care

Ultimately, the story of HospiBot is a testimony to the benefits of cross-border cooperation in finding innovative solutions. But the most important takeaway is that overstretched, overworked healthcare professionals might struggle to ensure the services that make them indispensable. With HospiBot, turning the hand sanitiser to a mobile assistance unit, unburdens human personnel from tiring, repetitive tasks, eventually allowing them to work in peace. By “promoting” the robot, people get better care, hospital workers less stress. A win-win for humans and machines.