Moxi works to integrate itself within clinical teams.
Diligent Robotics
With rapid advancements in artificial intelligence and technology, there are numerous opportunities to improve key aspects of the healthcare value chain, ranging from workflow automation to supply chain optimization and increased patient engagement. Diligent Robotics is working on an often overlooked portion of the healthcare industry: last mile operations.
Specifically, the company’s flagship robot, Moxi, is helping medical teams with routine tasks that would otherwise require dedicated human focus and time, such as transporting goods, delivering lab samples, and distributing medical supplies or medications, all while seamlessly integrating itself into existing spaces and workflows.
Moxi was built with functionality and ease-of-use as priorities, with a robotic arm to aid with intricate tasks such as navigating elevators and doors, multiple safety sensors and a storage box to provide ample space to carry payloads across physical spaces. Beyond just the physical form, Moxi is powered by cutting-edge artificial intelligence, designed to display social intelligence (e.g., the robot will automatically detect a busy elevator and navigate to prevent bumping into others) and continuously learn from its users.
Importantly, Diligent is working closely with Nvidia to power its intelligence platform by using state-of-the-art robotics training hardware. Nvidia, perhaps most well known for GPUs and the significant part the company has played in the recent AI boom, is a novel innovator in the robotics space. The company’s Jetson platform for edge AI and robotics enables advanced generative AI solutions to be deployed at scale.
David Niewolny, senior director and global head of business development for healthcare at Nvidia, discusses how the world is entering into a new era of robotics and edge computing, enabling massive potential. In the context of Moxi, Niewolny enthusiastically explains that “there is huge opportunity to be able to significantly improve workflows and there are so many other opportunities in the healthcare landscape outside of just traditional clinical workflows.” Last mile delivery and easing routine tasks is one such non-traditional opportunity.
Why is all of this important?
The entire field of humanoid robots is taking off rapidly, as companies are eager to help humans augment their workflows and daily routines with intelligent hardware that can actively learn. Take for example Tesla’s Optimus robot, which is meant to be a “bi-pedal, autonomous humanoid robot capable of performing unsafe, repetitive or boring tasks.” Or another example is Figure.AI’s humanoid bot, which is being built with the intention of addressing labor shortages throughout a variety of industries. While these have incredible potential, they are also being proposed as generalized models for generalized applications.
Diligent, on the other hand, is currently focused on addressing a very real need of the hour: a crumbling healthcare system.
In healthcare, labor shortages are escalating quickly. Specifically, nursing shortages are one of the hardest problems that hospitals face today, and are often the key reason why hospitals cannot see patients in a timely manner. Even if a hospital has beds available, nurses have to actually staff those beds for patients to be admitted, often making them the rate-limiting step for patient care.
The problem that Moxi aims to solve is not just about helping an organization be technology forward; it is about helping nurses and medical teams practice at the top of their licenses and spend time with patients rather than doing otherwise routine tasks. The real return on investment is better patient outcomes and increased access to care.