Authors:
Sebastian Schmidt
;
Domenic Sommer
;
Tobias Greiler
and
Florian Wahl
Affiliation:
Technology Campus Grafenau, Deggendorf Institute of Technology, Dieter-Görlitz-Platz 1, 94469 Deggendorf, Germany
Keyword(s):
System Integration, HCI, Human-Centered Computing, Human-Robot Interaction, HRI, Robot Orchestration, Robotic Mission Planning, Healthcare, Interoperability, Ambient Technology.
Abstract:
In a time where an ageing population, nurses shortage and manual labor routines are limiting rural healthcare, Service Robots (SR) are emerging. While SR could increase hospital staff efficiency, their healthcare use remains limited. Barriers are the robot’s task-specific inflexibility and a lack of interoperability. Existing SR are usually closed systems and focus on a single robot designed to fulfill all functional requirements, which results in complex and expensive solutions. In contrast, we propose to utilize and combine existing SR for various tasks. We argue that with the growing integration of SR in healthcare, a SR management system has become a necessity. We propose hospOS, a centralised system for SR orchestration in healthcare facilities. hospOS addresses this gap by providing a modular, flexible, user-friendly platform that seamlessly integrates SR into hospital IT infrastructures, alleviating the shortage of care workers and thus improving patient care. The platform is
built with a focus on interoperability, modularity, and compliance with regulations. We evaluated hospOS in two rural hospitals by realising three example use cases: Telemedicine, transport, and orientation services. This paper offers an architecture blueprint and discusses the functionalities, and potential benefits of hospOS, along with its implementation in healthcare scenarios. The results from deployments indicate im-provements in service delivery and operational management.
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