Run the Fetch-Errand Test
Diligent Robotics builds Moxi as a hospital logistics robot aimed at the supply-fetching errands that repeatedly take clinical staff away from patients. That is a narrower and more defensible claim than general hospital automation.
The Bot Scout fetch-errand test measures the target before evaluating the robot: over one week, log how many times staff on a unit leave the floor to collect supplies, how far they walk, and how long each trip takes. That number is the ceiling on what any fetch robot can return, and it varies enormously between buildings.
A unit with a well-stocked supply room three metres away has almost no addressable errand time. A unit whose supplies live two floors down has a great deal. The robot is identical in both cases and the business case is not.
| Question | Why it matters | How to measure | Signal it will not pay off |
|---|---|---|---|
| How many fetch trips per shift? | Sets the addressable work | Log trips for one week | Fewer than a handful per shift |
| How far is the supply route? | Determines time returned | Walk and time the route | Supply room adjacent to the unit |
| Who receives the delivery? | Handoff decides real saving | Observe a live handoff | Nurse must stop mid-task anyway |
| What crosses locked doors? | Access integration cost | Map badge points | Every route needs a badge |
| What happens at peak? | Value concentrates at peak | Observe at shift change | Robot avoids peak corridors |
What to Verify Before a Pilot
Elevator integration, badge access, and network coverage are the practical gating items, and they are the hospital's cost rather than the vendor's. Confirm who pays for and schedules that work before agreeing a pilot date.
Measure delivery latency and staff walking time before and during the pilot. Deliveries completed is a vanity metric; walking time returned to patient care is the one that justifies the system — the same handoff discipline used in the hospital robots guide.
Moxi is facility equipment rather than a regulated medical device, since it does not act on a patient. That classification decides the buying process, as set out in the medical robot definition guide.
- Log fetch trips per shift for a week before evaluating any robot.
- Time the supply route on foot to establish the addressable saving.
- Confirm who funds elevator and badge integration.
- Measure staff walking time, not deliveries completed.
- Observe a live handoff to confirm the saving is real.
Where It Fits Against Alternatives
The honest competitor is not another robot. It is restocking the unit more often, relocating the supply room, or changing the par-level policy, and any of those can beat a robot in a building where the route is short.
Where the route is genuinely long and crosses floors, a fetch robot is a reasonable answer and the alternatives are expensive. Compare against the broader transport category in the medical delivery robots guide.
This page is educational and is not medical, regulatory, or purchasing advice for a specific clinical programme.
Bottom Line
Moxi targets nursing fetch errands, so its value is set by how much of that work your building actually generates. Measure the errands first, then judge the robot.
Log fetch trips and route length on one unit for a week before booking a vendor pilot.
FAQs
What does the Moxi robot do?
Diligent Robotics builds Moxi as a hospital logistics robot targeting supply-fetching errands that take clinical staff away from patient care.
Is Moxi a medical device?
No. It moves supplies rather than acting on a patient, so it is treated as facility equipment and bought through operations rather than a clinical service line.
How do you know if a fetch robot will pay off?
Log how many times staff leave the floor for supplies in a week and how long each trip takes. That total is the ceiling on what any fetch robot can return.
What are the alternatives to a hospital fetch robot?
Restocking the unit more frequently, relocating the supply room, or changing par-level policy. In buildings with short supply routes those usually win.