Human - robot exchanges in the organizational space: the social dynamics of new work configurations in a Danish hospital

This pilot study concerns a Danish hospital’s recent implementation of a mobile service robot to transport blood samples and urine tests from the outpatient clinic to the laboratory in several rounds each day. While we see a great influx of robot technology to perform various tasks in hospitals, we know little about human and robot co-existence and, particularly, robots’ practical exchanges with staff. The current project sets out to uncover benefits as well as obstacles in human and robot exchanges and interaction. The following research question guides our work: How does the mobile service robot affect practices and workflows and how does it engage in exchanges with staff?