AGV and Automatic Buffer System at the New Aalborg University Hospital

At the New Aalborg University Hospital, Gibotech is in the process of installing a comprehensive, fully automated AGV and buffer system. The system and its main buffer are based in Servicebyen and will serve the entire hospital. This is where carts loaded with sterile equipment, linens, medication, fluids, and other consumables are stored until they are needed in the hospital. The AGVs return to the main buffer with empty carts to be washed and restocked.

The production kitchen, which is also located in Servicebyen, has its own small storage area. Here, the dirty carts are first guided via conveyor tracks to the kitchen’s washing area, where they are emptied. The carts are then washed and stored in the kitchen’s buffer until they are brought into the kitchen itself, where they are loaded with food and tableware. AGVs transport the carts directly to the patient wards.

The AGVs travel through a service tunnel that connects the ground floor of Servicebyen with the basement level of the hospital. To reach the correct (ward) department, the AGVs use special elevators that have been reserved in advance for that specific transport. From the elevator, the AGV drives directly to the ward’s AGV room and delivers the cart to a station where staff can retrieve it. The AGV is now ready to receive a new task or drive to a charging station if no tasks are pending.

From the very beginning of the project, the North Denmark Region and Aalborg University Hospital have sought to automate transport operations at the new hospital in Aalborg. Consequently, AGV transport has been an integral part of every phase of the project. This is evident, for example, in the separate elevators designated for technical transport. The desire to automate from the start stemmed from both a desire to improve the ergonomic work environment and a desire to be prepared for the future.

Niels Corneliussen, project manager for the AGV system at the New Aalborg University Hospital