The advance of artificial intelligence and technology is being felt in more and more areas of our lives. And, soon, they promise to have a strong impact on the pharmaceutical sector in Ibiza. The fact is that from March it will begin to operate in the Pharmacy Dr. A. María Marí-Bartolomé Marí a robot that will speed up the delivery of medicines.
“The Label robot has a number of advanced features that make it a highly efficient tool for pharmacies,” introduces Miquel Martínez Gifre, industrial engineer and general manager in Spain for Label. The main function of this robot is to store pharmaceutical products and dispense medicines on demand from patients or customers, without the pharmacist having to travel to look for any products. “This dramatically reduces both errors and work time in the rebotica, allowing the pharmacist to devote more time to patient counseling,” Martínez emphasizes. According to the expert, the robot has the capacity to dispense up to 700 units per hour. Its gripper is equipped with cameras and sensors and can handle products of various shapes and weights, thanks to a pressure sensor system that adjusts the intensity of the grip as needed. “The most important thing is to be able to give better attention to the patient, the time you save in going inside to look for medicines can be used to resolve any doubts they may have, to be able to give them better pharmaceutical attention,” agrees Bartolomé Marí, owner of the pharmacy.
How the robot works
As Martinez explains, the robot performs its tasks through two sentences:
- Loading phase. In this phase, the pharmacist places the drugs in the semi-automatic loader in groups of up to 10 units. The Label robot identifies the characteristics of the containers, such as expiration date, dimensions and other specifications, and then organizes and sorts them without the need for human intervention. This process drastically reduces administrative time, eliminates mechanical tasks and helps to keep the shelf area clean and tidy by eliminating misplaced products.
- Dispensing phase. Once the Label robot is up and running, it can dispense the medication or product demanded by the customer directly at the point of sale, without the pharmacist having to travel to find it. The robot automatically selects the product that has the closest expiration date to ensure that it is dispensed as close to its end date as possible.
Unique features
The robot that will soon arrive in Ibiza works with artificial intelligence to optimize product management. This means, for example, that it monitors expiration dates and ensures that products with the closest expiration date are dispensed first. “In addition, it has a programmed system to automatically return those products close to their expiration date, avoiding economic losses for the pharmacy,” emphasizes the head of Label. On the other hand, Martínez highlights the robot’s scalability. “It can adapt and improve as the pharmacy grows. For example, a second arm can be added to increase dispensing speed, or a high-rotation module capable of dispensing 10 units per second (equivalent to a total of 3,600 units/hour). This module performs a daily check to ensure that the products in the high-rotation channels are correctly stored and automatically changes them if necessary. At the same time, the Ibizan pharmacy’s robot will include a state-of-the-art semi-automatic loader, which avoids bottlenecks and has a large capacity, Martínez explains. The version with extras (which will not be the case in Ibiza, at least initially) features a product scanning plate that can identify and process a product in 2 seconds, without relying on the robotic arm. “This makes it unique in the market, as it can perform all these functions simultaneously: dispense high turnover products, use the robotic arm to dispense other products, and load automatically or semi-automatically,” Label’s spokesperson remarks. The robot’s service life is estimated at 15 to 20 years, ensuring long durability. As for the return on investment, Martínez points out that “it is estimated that the cost of the robot is recovered in a period of 2 to 3 years, depending on the specific characteristics and needs of each pharmacy”. In the case of his pharmacy, Bartolomé Marí projects 4 to 5 years.
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