A FLEET of robots has been deployed at Southmead Hospital to carry food and equipment around the new site.

The Automatic Guided vehicles (AGV) work around the clock to help members of staff deliver services at the new £430 million Brunel building.

As part of their role the AGVs transport food from the kitchens to regeneration kitchens where food is reheated for patients.

However, the robots do not come into contact with patients and don’t deliver food directly to them.

The AGVs also carry medication in secure carts as well as transporting linen to wards and waste from wards. Specific trolleys are used by the vehicles depending on the job they are doing.

They use infra red laser scanners in combination with an inbuilt map to navigate their way around predetermined routes.

The hospital currently operates 12 AGVs in non-patient areas of the new Brunel building. They operate between specific stations along corridors in service areas and the clinical areas.

They run along predetermined routes and can use 10 lifts in non-patient areas of the Brunel. They let the lifts know they are there as well as doors along the route by communicating with them.

The AGVs are charged at set charging stations.

A variety of scanners can detect obstacles and they can initially slow down if something is in their path but will stop immediately if an obstacle is too near.

Director of facilities at North Bristol NHS Trust, Simon Wood, said: “The automatic guided vehicles enable us to carry out the heavier work around the new hospital, reducing the amount of manual handling and consequently the risks. They can also work around the clock unattended to carry out scheduled tasks.

“We wanted to incorporate appropriate technologies into the new Brunel building and these AGVs are well-used and tested all over Europe so were an ideal solution.”