UAE launches first robot pharmacy

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has inaugurated its first "robot pharmacy" at Rashid Hospital in Dubai, UAE state news agency WAM reported on Friday.

This smart pharmacy is deploying a robot for the first time in the UAE to dispense prescribed medication, which would be done at a click of button based on a bar code, therefore "minimize any human error," said the report.

The robot, which will start serving customers from Sunday, can store up to 35,000 medicines and dispense around 12 prescriptions in less than a minute, which would reduce customers' waiting time significantly.

The Dubai Health Authority (DHA) said it plans to adopt the use of robot in all its hospitals soon.

The robot is one of the latest smart technologies adopted by the authority to meet the 2016-2021 strategy, which aims to achieve a "happy and healthy society," DHA said.

The UAE has installed robots at several public places in order to be at the forefront of a digital economy within the Arab world. Robots greet passengers at Dubai international airport and the first driverless cars are tested by the Dubai government in the Business Bay near the world's tallest tower Burj Khalifa.

source: Xinhua