Med-EV
Making Hospital at Home more accessible
Spring 2020
DSID 143
With Hospitals filling up and hospital rates skyrocketing, people are starting to use the Hospital at Home program since it cuts the price down by 30% or more. At the same time, medicines will usually be shipped by mail or delivered by a nurse. This causes inefficient use of staff or a delay due to mail processing.
Med-EV aims to relieve those nurses and create a system where medicines can get delivered safely and efficiently to the patient.
Opportunity
Current Delivery Robots
Street delivery robots tend to have a very limited range and capacity. Only working in small areas. At the same time, they only deliver one item at a time which can cause problems when demand is high.
Hospital Costs
Healthcare costs have increased over the past few decades, from 5 percent in 1960 to 18 percent in 2018.
Accessibility
For many, it can be a lot to ask for them to leave their home and to head to the nearest pharmacy or clinic to pick up medicine.
Hospital at Home
Hospital at home programs allows patients to receive treatment at home. It can cut the cost of care by 30 percent or more. At the same time, medicines will usually be shipped by mail or delivered by a nurse. This causes inefficient use of staff or a delay due to mail processing.
Design for Manufacturing
Sustainability
By choosing both lightweight and stronger materials, I am allowing for a longer-lasting and more efficient vehicle. Also, designing for disassembly allows for easy repairs so people are encouraged to fix their vehicles.
Goals
The goal is to create a strong, lightweight, and efficient vehicle to allow for maximum travel distance but can withstand regular wear and tear to protect the medicines stored inside.
Manufacturing
The planned units are about 100-500 robots. Because the production numbers are low, we do not need processes like injection molding where the investment is worth it once you produce a large number of products.
Ideation
Phase 1:
Looking to develop a personality for the overall form that would make it inviting and easily approachable. At the same time began to look at the relations of the shapes of the lights and what emotions they represented.
Phase 2:
Began on the literal side and began moving to more subtle cues. Moved to a van style to fit in as many products in one journey. At the same time manufacturing began to play a role in how I began to shape it.
Phase 3:
Began to work out the minor details and how people would receive their packages from the robot. Continued to ideate, not headlight and backlight configurations.
Technologies
Autonomous Road Driving
Self Driving vehicles that use GPS and sensors to navigate and drive on the highway.
Secure Parcel System
Secure mailboxes that open upon entering a code sent to your phone or email.
Electric Vehicle
Cars that rely on the use of electricity and electric motors to get around. Is also a green way to power a vehicle.
Med-EV
Medicines delivered to your door safely
Features
Stereo Camera
Can sense and see objects in the distance
LCD Screen
Screen to give users instructions and to open the doors.
Climate Control
Keeps temperature stable to preserve the medicines
Steel Parcels
The parcel system helps ensure everyone gets the right package and nothing gets stolen.
Doors
Dual doors allow for accessibility from both sides.
How it works
Load on the medicine deliveries into the parcel boxes.
A person punches in texted passcode.
The robot goes on the road to start making deliveries.
The door opens and the parcel box opens. Person grabs their package.
The robot arrives at a person's home
The robot continues its deliveries.
Full Bill of Materials
Exploded View
My main goal for the materials and finishes was to pick materials that were both strong and lightweight to increase range and reliability.
