Are ER robots a help or a hindrance in aiding health care workers?

In the fast-paced and sometimes chaotic environment of emergency rooms, researchers from Cornell University and Michigan State University have found that robots have the potential to assist healthcare workers and facilitate clinical teamwork.

The team has developed a robotic crash cart prototype that showcases how robots can support healthcare workers at the patient’s bedside. This prototype provides a framework for designers to create and test robots in other non-traditional areas.

According to Angelique Taylor, an assistant professor in information science at Cornell Tech and the Cornell Ann S. Bowers College of Computing and Information Science, integrating a robot into a new environment requires careful consideration. It is essential to understand how a robot can be helpful and what mechanisms can make its embodiment useful in high-pressure situations.

Taylor, the lead author of the study titled “Towards Collaborative Crash Cart Robots that Support Clinical Teamwork,” presented the research at the ACM/IEEE International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction, where it received a best paper honorable mention in the design category. This paper expands on Taylor’s previous work exploring robotics and team dynamics in unpredictable healthcare settings such as emergency rooms and operating rooms.

To learn more about the research, visit the Cornell Bowers CIS website.