Swifties - a fleet of Autonomous Mobile Robots – roam the corridors of SGH to augment porters to deliver medicine and surgical instruments across the sprawling campus.
There is a new kid on the block! In recent months, you may have spotted them passing you by in the SGH hallways or lifts at OCH. They are none other than our new colleague, Swiftie.
Meet our new colleague, Swiftie!
Swiftie is an Autonomous Mobile Robot (AMR). It is the equivalent of self-driving cars, in that it can independently perform tasks without human input.
“Like us, Swiftie can navigate around our narrow and crowded corridors, open doors and call for the lifts. In addition, Swiftie has a belly that hold a load of up to 35kg across 3 tiers. Therefore making her ideal to ferry items around while maintaining the ability to be nimble,” says Cheryl Quek, Senior Manager, SGH Innovation & Technology.
“These AMRs are part of SGH’s initiative to augment our daily tasks and especially our portering workforce, which is increasingly difficult to hire. They only need to charge for 1 ½ hours, making them ideal for working round the clock to support the hospital’s 24/7 operations and for making multiple trips across the fast-expanding campus. This relieves our porters to manage other deliveries such as the urgent ones.”
To give Swiftie a big, warm welcome into our SGH community, let’s get to know Swiftie better.
Hello Swiftie! Can you introduce yourself?
Hello! I’m so happy to be here, working in SGH! I’m also thrilled that you have decided to name me Swiftie (my factory name is Swiftbot).
So what is your job scope in SGH?
Well, I am an intelligent robot so I help to deliver medication and surgical instruments. Think of me as the extra arms and legs of our reliable porters and tow truck drivers.
I relieve our portering colleagues of medication delivery from the Discharge Pharmacy in SGH Block 4 to locations in SingHealth Tower (SHT). This frees up my porter friends to take care of urgent and time sensitive deliveries. They can also be spared the multiple trips back and forth on foot.
So from the SGH side of the campus, I will pick up the medication and go across the link bridge to SHT. I then take the lift to the SGH Wards housed on Level 11, to deliver medication packed for each patient who is being discharged that day. For SGH inpatients transferred to the care of the Community Hospital, I will bring their medication packed by SGH Discharge Pharmacy to the OCH Pharmacy down in Basement 2 of SHT.
For the surgical instruments, my journey is in the reversed direction, ie from SHT to SGH. I deliver instruments cleaned at the Sterile Supplies Unit at SHT to the Ambulatory Surgery Centre in SGH. I do this in the evenings, from 5pm to 9pm. These instruments are heavy and are usually transported by tow trucks.
SGH can get quite crowded. How do you get around safely with so many people around?
I am smart, that’s how! I have omnidirectional sensory perception, this means I can detect and see objects and people around me. Because of this capability, I can navigate around obstacles or people by re-routing my path. If the areas are too crowded for me to manoeuvre, I will nicely ask you to “please give way!”. I will queue and wait my turn for the lift like everyone else.
I understand. Besides the crowd, SGH is also a really big space. Even I get confused getting around sometimes!
In a dynamic and complex environment such as SGH, I can still conduct and complete my given tasks reliably. As kids say these days, “I am an independent queen”. So I have a map of where I’m navigating to and coupled with my sensors, it ensures that I don’t get lost. I can navigate through different buildings, open areas as well as corridors, and pass through electronic and automatic doors, all on my own!
Guess what? You can also keep tabs on me; my location and progress can be seen via an application. When I make it to the delivery destination, the app will also give you a shout-out. Oh! And if I run into any hiccups along the way, I’ll be sure to notify you through the app as well. Don’t worry though, I’ll be sure to do my best work. When I get sleepy, I will return to my docking station to sleep…to power up for the next delivery!”
Oh! But how are you able to call for the lift? You don’t have hands like us!
That’s true! I actually communicate wirelessly to call for lifts and because I can do that, I can share the lift with the rest of you. This also means I don’t disrupt when you are calling for the lift, too. Sounds cool, right?
Are you the only robot around?
Nope! There are other robots that help with other processes, including cleaning, security, and the transportation of food carts and surgical instrument sets across different buildings on the SGH campus. When you see any of us, do say hi! Trust me, we’re really friendly.
Last question: What is one thing we can do to make you feel welcome?
Wow, that’s so nice of you to ask. I ask that you be patient with me! I might take a second to adjust my position in the lift so I feel comfortable. Or if there are unexpected situations such as a sudden closure of pathways on my route, I may need your help - so be a pal and give a shout out to the relevant departments, or call the number pasted on my display. Thanks!
Embracing the technology that empowers hospitals
Says Justina Ma, Pharmacy Practice Manager, SGH Pharmacy, "Using AMRs to deliver discharge medications, we have improved efficiency - once processed, the medications can be on their way without the need to call for a porter. This innovation reduces manpower needs and we can track the whole route of the delivery and know exactly when the medications have arrived at the destination."
