GESSbot Takes Over Medication Delivery at SLK-Klinikum Heilbronn
An autonomous mobile robot independently transports medications between the central pharmacy and the oncology department—through public hospital areas and via passenger elevators.
Heilbronn/Leingarten, September 2026 – At SLK Klinikum Heilbronn, a GESSbot from W. Gessmann GmbH autonomously transports medications between the central pharmacy and the oncology department. The autonomous mobile robot moves through public hospital areas, uses regular passenger elevators, and navigates safely among patients, visitors, and staff—without the need for restricted areas or special infrastructure. This successful deployment demonstrates that autonomous mobile robots are already reliably handling logistical tasks in day-to-day hospital operations and noticeably reducing the burden on staff by eliminating time-consuming transport routes.
Autonomous Medication Transport in Everyday Hospital Life
Hospitals face the challenge of ensuring high-quality care with limited staffing resources. At the same time, medications, supplies, linens, and numerous other materials must be reliably transported throughout the facility every day.
This is exactly where the GESSbot comes in. Instead of operating in specially prepared environments, the system works directly within the hospital’s day-to-day operations and moves safely among patients, visitors, and staff. It detects obstacles, reacts to foot traffic, and independently utilizes the hospital’s existing infrastructure.
Since it began operations, the GESSbot has already completed more than 680 medication deliveries, covering over 165 kilometers autonomously while the hospital remained in operation. This demonstrates that autonomous mobile robotics functions reliably not only under test conditions but also in the demanding day-to-day environment of a modern hospital.
Successful Implementation in the Public Hospital Sector
The system’s operating environment is particularly challenging. The GESSbot transports medications between the central pharmacy and the oncology department, traveling through public hallways and across multiple floors. In doing so, it independently uses the hospital’s regular passenger elevators and moves through areas shared by patients, visitors, and staff.
In this way, the GESSbot helps hospitals address a challenge familiar to many institutions: Long transport routes tie up valuable staff resources, while at the same time the demand for qualified professionals continues to rise.
„Hospital logistics requires solutions that work in everyday situations—connecting people and breaking down barriers. With the GESSbot, we’re developing AMR solutions that reliably handle internal transport tasks—not under ideal conditions, but in the midst of day-to-day hospital operations—where they ease the burden on staff every day,“ explains Steffen Kuhnle, Head of the Robotics Division at W. Gessmann GmbH.
For the SLK clinics, the primary focus was on reducing the workload on their employees.
Flexible Robotics for Various Transport Tasks
The transport of medications at the SLK Clinic is just one possible use case. Autonomous mobile robotics can generally provide support wherever materials need to be transported reliably, repeatedly, and on a time-sensitive basis within a hospital—for example, for supplies, laundry, meals, or other logistics processes.
The key factor here is the system's ability to reliably execute transport orders in complex environments. The technology was originally developed for industrial applications and can be used in a wide variety of operating environments.
In addition, the GESSbot can be integrated into existing infrastructure and connected to elevators, automatic doors, or gate systems. Depending on the model, it can move payloads of up to 350 or 500 kilograms and navigate even in narrow aisles.
Relief Instead of a Technology Demonstration
The use of the GESSbot at the SLK Hospital in Heilbronn exemplifies a new generation of automation solutions in the healthcare sector. The focus is not on the technology itself, but on its concrete benefits in everyday hospital life.
W. Gessmann GmbH is increasingly applying its automation technology to healthcare applications. With the GESSbot, the company helps hospitals address labor shortages and meet rising demands for efficiency and process quality.
The successful operation at the SLK-Klinikum Heilbronn demonstrates that autonomous mobile robotics can already contribute to the modernization of internal hospital logistics processes while simultaneously relieving hospital staff of repetitive transport tasks—within existing buildings, using existing infrastructure, and in accordance with the demands of modern hospital operations.
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