(Photo courtesy of Shanghai Children’s Hospital)

Two robots have recently been hired to deliver medicine at the Shanghai Children’s Hospital, marking a historic leap forward in the application of artificial intelligence to hospital logistics, ThePaper.cn reported on Jan. 15.

The Children’s Hospital of Shanghai is the first hospital in the city to introduce smart logistics in the form of robots.

The two robots worked 93 days from September to December last year, completing a total of 1,600 deliveries, and covering a total mileage of 218 kilometers.

The hospital said that two more robots will arrive in 2019, and will be responsible for medicine delivery on four floors of the inpatient department.

(Photo courtesy of Shanghai Children’s Hospital)

Yu Guangjun, president of the hospital, noted that the high turnover rate is a significant characteristic of the nursing profession. Therefore, the hospital decided to bring in the robots to improve efficiency and guarantee safety.

Additionally, robots running through the wards can also comfort child patients, Yu explained.

(Photo courtesy of Shanghai Children’s Hospital)

The robots may be used in more hospital scenarios in the future, such as for medical waste disposal, food delivery, smart nursing, and guiding services.

“Robot technologies are an important part of the digitization of hospitals,” Yu said, adding that they are easy to replicate for hospitals that have similar demands.