If all the issues I've mentioned below are solved well then this 
sounds like about the most
"robot like" robots that I have heard of.

Use of RFID tags for equipment location is standard and use of
'robots" for on site delivery has been done for decades but this
combination sounds amazing.

http://computerworld.co.nz/news.nsf/news/067DE767BC61A2FECC25728F0014C1FD?opendocument&utm_source=topnews&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=topnews

If the system can handle wheelchair sized devices it would be
interesting to see in action and there would be issues re interaction
with equipment that was in use or connected to mains or even to
patients. Navigation and right of way issues must also be interesting.
Will it retrieve and deliver a wheelchair complete with patient? :-)



        Russell

________________

Synopsis:


System uses robots to monitor the movement of medical equipment tagged
with radio frequency identification (RFID) chips and fetch it when
needed by nurses or other hospital staff.

System is designed to locate, deliver and recover hospital equipment
using RFID tags and two robots Includes a robot called Homer that
constantly roams the hospital pinging for RFID tags on hospital
equipment to track locations. A second robot, called Tug, delivers
clean equipment and returns used equipment to a central location.

The Tug robot is already used at 75 hospitals as a courier to deliver
and recover equipment.

The system is designed to keep track of large numbers of hospital
equipment like IV pumps, wheelchairs and respirators and ensuring
staff can access them when they are needed.

To get the true value out of an asset tracking system so they can
actually improve asset utilisation and decrease costs you have to do
more than locate assets," "You need to be able to locate it, retrieve
it and deliver it to its proper location."

Many asset tracking systems used in hospitals today require the
installation of an expensive infrastructure of antennas and receivers
to triangulate the location of RFID-tagged equipment.

Aethon's system, uses the robot's single antenna to track the location
of tagged equipment, and does not require that more equipment be
installed. In addition, the Homer robot can read multiple third party
RFID tags. The company does not require hospitals to sign site
licenses, but instead offers per tag pricing, says the company.

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