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Swisslog, a leading provider of automated materials transport and pharmacy automation solutions for hospitals, today announced that its new line of autonomous mobile robots is available for lease, as well as purchase.
“Our autonomous mobile robots are available for either purchase or lease,” said Jim Patrician, senior vice president of Swisslog Healthcare Solutions. “However, we believe the majority of our healthcare clients will want the financial flexibility associated with leasing this type of transport solution. In this economic climate, it may be easier for lab directors to get approval for an operational lease than it will for a capital equipment expenditure, especially considering the dramatic ROI the mobile robots deliver.”
Swisslog’s new line of autonomous mobile robots includes SpeciMinder and RoboCourier. The robots are natural extensions of Swisslog’s Automated Materials Transport Systems (AMTS) product family. The AMTS product portfolio currently consists of a pneumatic tube system for rapid on-demand transport of light loads throughout a hospital and an automated guided vehicle system for scheduled transport of heavy bulk loads. SpeciMinder and RoboCourier provide either on-demand or scheduled transport of batch loads weighing up to 50 pounds, thereby filling the void between the other AMTS products.
SpeciMinder is available now and is designed exclusively for INTRA-departmental materials transport. For example, a large one-floor laboratory or pharmacy in which lab technicians frequently move goods among multiple workstations is an ideal environment for SpeciMinder. The primary benefits of SpeciMinder are a measurable increase in operational efficiency, resulting in a positive return-on-investment of less than two years in most cases, and a shortening of turnaround time for verified lab results. The robot significantly reduces the manual labor required to move materials around a large department, resulting in many man-hours being returned to the department for other work.
RoboCourier will be available later this year and is designed for INTER-departmental materials transport. Like SpeciMinder, RoboCourier has an obstacle avoidance system and will be able to interface with automatic doors, but it will have added features, including elevator interface and a secure payload compartment. These additional features will allow RoboCourier to navigate throughout the entire hospital. RoboCourier’s primary benefit is the same as SpeciMinder’s: increased operational efficiency.
Swisslog Healthcare Solutions is the leading supplier of logistics automation solutions for healthcare facilities. Swisslog has installed automated materials transport and pharmacy automation systems in more than 3,000 hospitals around the world, including more than 2,000 in North America. Swisslog offers total systems design, manufacturing, installation and customer support providing a complete supply chain management approach to the logistics challenges of hospitals. The North American division of Swisslog Healthcare Solutions is based in Denver, CO.
About Swisslog
Swisslog is a global provider of integrated logistics solutions for warehouses, distribution centers and hospitals. Its comprehensive services portfolio ranges from building complex warehouses and distribution centers to implementing Swisslog’s own software to intra-company logistics solutions for hospitals.
Swisslog’s solutions optimize customers’ production, logistics and distribution processes in order to increase flexibility, responsiveness and quality of service while minimizing logistics costs. With years of experience in the development and implementation of integrated logistics solutions, Swisslog provides the expertise that customers in more than 50 countries rely on.
Headquartered in Buchs/Aarau, Switzerland, Swisslog currently employs over 2,000 staff in about 20 countries worldwide. The group’s parent company, Swisslog Holding AG, is listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange (security number: 1232462, Telekurs: SLOG, Reuters: SLOG.S). For more information, visit http://www.swisslog.com.
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