Meal-Delivering Robot at Hospital Falls Down Stairs
A newly purchased robot used to deliver meals to patients at the Stanford hospital became disoriented and tumbled halfway down a flight of stairs, a spokesman said.
“Cookie,” which is still being tested, suffered a dented bumper but was otherwise uninjured in the accident Thursday, said Stanford University Medical Center spokesman Don Gibbons.
The $60,000 gadget was shipped back to Transitions Research Corp., the Danbury, Conn., company where it was made, for an examination, Gibbons said.
It was unclear why the 4-foot, battery-operated, rubber-wheeled robot veered off course. It was supposed to be programmed to steer clear of stairways but apparently got confused and took a plunge as it wheeled back to the meal service area after taking food to a patient.
“It’s a roving meal tray. It has no legs,” Gibbons said.
The hospital has two other robotic transport devices.
More to Read
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.