Less Hauling, More Healing: Logistics Automation in Action
Photo by Getty Images via Unsplash
Hospitals are running hard to stay in place. Staffing shortages persist. Operational demands keep mounting. And the workforce on the ground is left managing systems that were never designed to handle this kind of strain.
We often talk about fixing healthcare by hiring more people or building better software. Or we ask staff to move faster. But the less glamorous truth is that there's an entire area of critical effort that gets overlooked, draining time and attention from already overstretched teams. Transporting linens. Delivering lab samples. Running supplies between departments. Disinfecting rooms. Transporting patients. Delivering meals.
It’s all essential. But none of it requires a specialized workforce.
That’s where automation comes in. Humanoid robots might dominate the headlines, and they may eventually find meaningful roles in care delivery, but their practical impact in hospitals is still likely years away.
The real opportunity right now lies in focused, dependable systems that are already getting work done.
Zipline's autonomous drones have delivered blood, prescriptions, and vaccines across Rwanda and Ghana at national scale. In the United States, hospitals like WakeMed in North Carolina have piloted them to carry lab samples between facilities with consistent speed and reliability.
These are deliveries that traditionally require human couriers to drive between buildings and hand off items in person. Integrating systems like Zipline into healthcare logistics can save time, reduce emissions, cut resource demands, and even save lives. A 2022 study in Rwanda found that Zipline delivered blood products 79 mins faster than existing road delivery methods, and a 67% reduction in blood unit expirations at 12 months.
Across Scandinavia, Singapore, and other health systems, Envac’s underground vacuum systems remove soiled linen, waste, and infectious materials without relying on carts, bins, or constant porter trips.
By pulling waste directly through sealed conduits to central collection points, these systems help reduce hallway congestion and minimize the risk of healthcare-associated infections. Staff don’t have to push overflowing biohazard bins or used linen carts through patient areas. Instead, disposal becomes cleaner, faster, and built into the architecture itself.
Aethon’s TUG robots have been operating in hospitals for more than twenty years. They make over 5 million autonomous deliveries per year, including medications, meals, and supplies, all without requiring direct supervision or manual navigation.
These robots are running 24/7 in hospitals across the U.S., riding elevators and moving through complex layouts with consistency and reliability. They travel over 300,000 miles per year. When the work is steady and repetitive, consistency becomes the advantage. And with TUGs, that advantage scales.
What These Systems Have in Common
1. They work reliably and independently
2. They reduce human effort without removing human care
3. Their ROI shows up in financial performance, and in the energy and well-being of the teams they support
This is the kind of automation healthcare needs more of. Not moonshots. Just real support, applied in the right places.
How We Think About It at Rovex
At Rovex, we’re not trying to reimagine clinical care. We’re developing automation that helps relieve the strain of the quiet, constant, behind-the-scenes work that surrounds it. When teams get that time and energy back, care improves at every level.
A new generation of hospital automation is emerging. It doesn’t need to be flashy or attention-grabbing. It just needs to work reliably, reduce the load on care teams, and support the people who keep hospitals running.
Join the conversation. Follow me here, or follow Rovex Technologies Corporation, as we explore how robotics can help reshape the invisible infrastructure of care and give hospital teams the support they’ve long deserved.
