Pharm-Bot Goes On Rampage

budgenator writes "Seems that Waldo, a robot that delivers medication from the pharmacy to the nurses stations, went on an extracurricular journey at San Francisco's UCSF Medical Center last Tuesday. Waldo entered uninvited into a radiation oncology examination room disturbing a Doctor and Patient enough that it caused them to flee the room. Is navigating a hospital full of moving humans more difficult than navigating the DARPA grand challenge, or could it be that like his sibling robort Elvis, he just wanted to leave the building?"

Comments

It's quite simple...

[Anonymous Coward]

... He was looking for Sara Conner.

Hal9000?

[Chrispy1000000 the 2]

I'm sorry, I can't do that Dave.

Rampage??

[r2q2]

I would think that rampage is much too strong of a word. More like unplanned excursion. Maybe it is a hint that the robot is becoming self aware? Either that or bad software design.

Re:Rampage??

[Jason1729]

You're right, but unplanned excursion doesn't make a great headline that fuels people's fear of technology.

Re:Rampage??

[EvilTwinSkippy]

The three laws of hospital robotic:

1. A robot must not allow a human to come to harm from it's action or inaction.
2. A robot must follow orders given by a human, unless that order contradicts rule 1.
3. A robot must check the level of insurance coverage of patient...

Re:Rampage??

[Scud]

Either that or bad software design.

More likely that there was a hardware failure of some kind. But you can't rule out crappy software.

We use AGV (Automatic Guided Vehicles) and they have been known to the same thing. Hardly a rampage, more like aimlessly wandering around.

These things are a perfect example of the evils of closed-source design, you are cked into your vendor for everything, and if they can't be bothered with it then it ain't gonna get fixed.

The ones we use (from CEC) have a mixture of commercial and home-grown hardware, most of the stuff we have no other choice but to go to the vendor for replacement parts. Where they charge us out the ass for more of their crappy hardware.

I mean these idiots designed a 28 bit wide input card. Who in the hell uses a 28 bit buss?

Dipshits.

Ok, I'm done ranting...

More hype

[Sarcastic Assassin]

Sadly, this story is more hype than fact. While the headline makes it seem like the robot is something you need insurance for, if you click through to the SF Chronicle article (and then scroll down a bit), you'll see that it was merely an accident, probably due to some bug in the navigation software.

If a robt shows up at my door

[jaltoids]

Full of drugs, and wants to "hang out" who am I to complain....

At least I wont have to share the goodstuff

These things are SMART

[kaosrain]

My grandmother was hospitalized for brain surgery a year ago, and I spent long days in the hospital. They also had a Waldo, and let me tell you, they were advanced. They would navigate around people, use the elevators (push the buttons, shuffle around in the elevator when it got more/less crowded, wouldn't get into the elevator if it was too full.) It annoyed some of the nurses because it would ask them to do something, and if they were busy so they decided to ignore it, Waldo would remind them every minute or so. I wish everyone at the hospital was as courteous as Waldo ;)

Re:These things are SMART

[willpall]

I was doing some work in a local hospital a year ago, riding the elevator up when I was quite startled to see a robot get on at the next floor. When the doors closed, I started to get very nervous.

I mean, they're strong, 'cause they're made of metal.

Anyway the system at that hospital had equipment up in the elevator control room that the robot would communicate with. The robot could call an elevator and would even know not to get on if there were too many people already on, as the robot equipment in the control room had access to the weight sensors on the elevator equipment. Pretty fun to follow that guy around all day instead of working...

Re:Hello

[Spy der Mann]

In all seriousness, isn't rampage a bit strong of a word to use?

You're right. The correct term is berserk.

That's All?

[eno2001]

With the word "Rampage" I was reminded of that fabulous 80s video game where giant apes, rats and dragons climb buildings and punch them to pieces. I was hoping that a robot grew gigantic in size due to a passing meteor and starting punching a hospital to pieces. How come nothing exciting like that ever happens on Earth anymore? I'm starting to think about leaving this planet and going back home again.

Re:That's All?

[kingofalaska]

"How come nothing exciting like that ever happens on Earth anymore?"

You're just not getting all the news. While standing in line at the grocery store the other day, I noticed a headline that read "Titanic Docks in New York Harbor". It mentioned something about the ghost ship, etc. My first comment to my fellow shoppers was "Why doesn't anything like that ever happen here in Alaska!?"

KoA

Where's Waldo

[Anonymous Coward]

It's no wonder they had so much trouble finding him.

Wow, a robot malfunctioned.

[Velox_SwiftFox]

About 20 years ago I watched as my company's automotive-lower-bodyside protection (vinyl) spraying robot finished its job of applying to an automobile on the assembly line for the first time, and turned back to its "home" position without turning off the vinyl spray. It in the process turned a watching GM executive's very expensive suit into an instant raincoat.

Luckily GM had retained the job of building the spray controller to themselves, and it was their malfunction. The executive was heard to complain as he left that he wasn't even supposed to have been there.

Tee hee

[NanoGator]

Engineers didn't realize there was a problem with the unit until the words "Wouldn't you like to be a Pepper, too?" appeared all over their screens.

Register's ROTM humor bit

[SuperBanana]

Sadly, this story is more hype than fact. While the headline makes it seem like the robot is something you need insurance for, if you click through to the SF Chronicle article (and then scroll down a bit), you'll see that it was merely an accident, probably due to some bug in the navigation software.

It's just The Register, being The Register. I suppose the best way to describe the British press, in general, is the sort of furvor you see in FOX news, but AGAINST the government and corportations. To call them a bunch of sarcastic bastards is an understatement. American press takes a press release and reguritates it back to us. The British press take a press release, put their own story together about whatever it is, some background info, etc...quote a line or two and basically call it exactly like they see it, which is often, and accurately, either doubtful ("what a bunch of horse shit") or sarcastic ("right, and we'll all be using these things in our flying cars.") My examples are horrible- they're far better at it than that.

If you read their series Rage of The Machines, it's actually quite funny. Stuff about people getting trapped in public automatic-self-cleaning toilets are turned into people getting "swallowed" and "entrapped", having to be "freed from the machine's vices", etc. It's great stuff :-)

It's a more sophisticated version of the slashdot "zOMG skynet" comments...The Register keeps talking about when we'll basically have to start fighting off the machines with pitchforks in the streets.

I'm innocent, I tell ya!

[VValdo]

Waldo entered uninvited into a radiation oncology examination room disturbing a Doctor and Patient enough that it caused them to flee the room.

How many times do I have to apologize! I thought it was the gift shop!

W

You've got the priorities wrong

[Beek]

1. A robot must check the level of insurance coverage of patient
2. A robot must not allow a human to come to harm from it's action or inaction, unless that action is not permitted by rule 1.
3. A robot must follow orders given by a human, unless that order contradicts rule 2.

What actually happened

[Dorm41Baggins]

Instead, the crazed automaton [...] careened past the drug depository before barging into a room in the hospital's radiation oncology department where an examination was in progress.

The psychotic pill pusher reportedly refused to leave, sending both doctor and patient fleeing for their lives.

In other words, the robot pushed its way into the room, realized it was lost and stopped moving. The doctor then left to go call a tech to get the thing out of the exam room. The patient, not particularly interested in waiting around in a small room with a large, seemingly unpredictable piece of machinery, decided to wait out in the hall for him to come back.

That's my guess, anyway.