A rare sight in Taiwan: a robot dog patrolling an emergency room! MacKay Memorial Hospital has partnered with Ubitus to develop an intelligent care robot dog, training it in the hospital’s busiest areas. The robot can assist with inspections, navigation, and emergency alerts. This is not only a showcase of technological capability but also the creation of a reproducible and exportable Taiwan Model for healthcare AI.

“Excuse me! Excuse me!” A nurse calls urgently, pushing a patient on a stretcher through the emergency corridor at MacKay Memorial Hospital. Nearby, a baby in an incubator is being transferred to the pediatric ward. Patients waiting in wheelchairs observe, accompanied by volunteers or foreign caregivers. This daily scene in MacKay’s emergency department reflects the immense pressure faced by Taiwan’s ERs.

Amid this fast-paced, high-risk hospital environment, a dog-sized robot moves steadily through the crowd. It is the newly arrived inspection assistant — capable of detecting signs of a collapsed person unnoticed by staff and instantly alerting security.

This is not a tech exhibition clip; it is a real scenario soon to be realized at MacKay. Ubitus, a cloud software company, is collaborating with MacKay to develop care robots that can genuinely integrate into clinical settings.

AI Deployed at the Frontline: Emergency Room

This experiment has two main protagonists.

The robot dog carries multiple sensors on its back. Its primary tasks are patrolling the ER, identifying fallen individuals, alerting security, and detecting vital signs like heartbeats. Because the ER environment changes rapidly, the Ubitus team built a 3D spatial model rather than using conventional 2D navigation. The robot can also detect puddles, avoid obstacles, and even wave, shake hands, or make a heart gesture — combining practicality with approachability.

Another robot, called “Dr. MacKay”, is a wheeled guidance robot with a large touchscreen and voice recognition system. Patients can ask it about symptoms, locate departments, or navigate the hospital. For example, if someone says, “I have a headache, which department should I visit?” it provides real-time guidance. If the patient says, “I want to go to the pharmacy,” it can lead the way and deliver educational health content.

“The rhythm and culture of clinical settings are unique. Simply placing a robot is not enough; it must be deeply integrated into existing workflows to create real value,” explained Dr. Wen-Han Chang, Director General of MacKay Memorial Hospital.

Over ten years ago, MacKay began building its digital healthcare foundation, establishing departments in Applied Medicine, Data Medicine, and Imaging Medicine to integrate data and optimize clinical decision-making. This foundation has been crucial for the subsequent implementation of AI technology.

In 2024, MacKay further integrated NVIDIA’s AI platform, keeping sensitive patient data within the hospital to ensure information security, while using the ER — the hospital’s most complex, high-traffic area — as a real-world training environment for AI models. Dr. Chang noted, “If robots can handle inspections, transport, and environmental checks, nurses can focus more on patient care.”

Robots Learn the Hospital Before Working

MacKay chose Ubitus, one of Taiwan’s few startups backed by NVIDIA, leveraging cloud streaming and GPU computing to enter the AI healthcare field.

“It’s not the machine deciding the task, it’s the task driving the machine’s development,” explained Rong-Chang Kuo, Founder and CEO of Ubitus. The team’s focus is not on showcasing hardware but on understanding real needs in clinical settings. Every function of the inspection robot and Dr. MacKay is distilled from actual hospital scenarios, continuously refined and trained by the technical team.

“If a patient collapses due to in-hospital cardiac arrest, immediate action is critical. If the robot can detect and alert staff in real time, it greatly enhances patient safety,” said Dr. Shu-Tian Huang, Senior Attending Physician, Emergency Medicine, MacKay Memorial Hospital.

Safety, navigation, and patient interaction require constant testing and adjustment. Dr. Huang explained, “Different hospital areas have different needs — lobbies, wards, operating rooms — so we must repeatedly test and adapt.”

While other companies focus on “what the machine can do,” Ubitus asks, “What should the machine do, how, and for whom?” This co-creation process with hospitals builds modular, replicable know-how, forming Ubitus’ core product.

Subscription Model Instead of Equipment Sales

Unlike traditional robot vendors, Ubitus operates on a subscription model, continuously optimizing care robots based on actual needs. Hospitals pay a one-time development fee to design task logic and functional modules. Robots are then leased rather than purchased, with ongoing updates and technical support via subscription. Each improvement is informed by real usage data.

This model lowers entry barriers and risk for healthcare providers, while giving Ubitus opportunities to co-create, collect data, and refine AI models with every deployment.

Scaling Beyond Taiwan: Co-Creation in Action

The system is now preparing to expand internationally. Ubitus is negotiating with hospitals in Japan and Southeast Asia to export this co-creation approach across diverse languages, cultures, and healthcare systems. In these settings, AI is not a cold technology showcase but a continuous, needs-driven care companion.

“Care robots should adapt to their environment. Outpatient, testing, and inpatient services require different workflows,” emphasized Dr. Chang. Linking Taiwan’s medical technology, national health insurance data, tech industry, and AI computing power creates the Taiwan Model — a practical system operational in clinical settings.

The MacKay-Ubitus collaboration not only demonstrates Taiwan’s leadership in smart healthcare but also provides a successful model for global hospitals, showing how advanced technology can seamlessly integrate with real-world needs to deliver actionable, patient-centered care innovation.

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