Royal Inland Hospital rolls out new sensory robot to help calm patients in the ER

May 13, 2026 | 6:00 PM

KAMLOOPS — Royal Inland Hospital (RIH) is rolling out new technology into the emergency department – a bubble tube rover robot. It’s not utilized for diagnostics or in operating rooms. Instead, it focuses on decreasing stress for those awaiting treatment in the hospital’s emergency room.

Calming music, tactile LED tentacles of light and a tower full of bubbles – all in the name of bringing a calming presence inside the hectic walls of the emergency department.

“It’s a sensory device and as you can see, it’s got a tube full of bubbles. You can change the colours on that. It’s got LED strings here that can be draped over a patient’s bed or the patient can handle that and play with that,” said Joshua Sharp, clinical operations director for the RIH Emergency Department. “(It) changes different colours here, different speeds and then it’s also got a projector.”

The new bubble tube rover, costing less than $10,000, was rolled out at RIH on Wednesday (May 13), a first-of-its-kind in an acute setting anywhere in British Columbia.

SOUND OFF

SOUND OFF: Preserving local theatres

May 13, 2026

Sound Off

SOUND OFF: Approach to teaching - examining the meaning of being human

May 13, 2026

The Creative Edge

PEARCE: The quiet power of handwriting

May 12, 2026

“It’s really aimed at decreasing the anxieties that especially our pediatric populations and those with cognitive diversities (experience). Coming into the emergency department is usually scary, it’s loud, it’s a chaotic environment. This is something to try to decrease those anxieties for those patients,” said Sharp.

While the Canadian-built and designed rover is ideal for younger patients, the robot could also come into effect at the end of life through the ability to project family photos and other memories.

“We do have times here when we do have to palliate a patient and the end of life is in an emergency setting,” said Sharp. “With this device, we are really hoping to add to that patient dignity, dying with dignity on that side. Providing that patient comfort during the end-of-life stage is quite important to us.”

The emergency department is trialing the robot for the next few months, getting feedback from patients and staff, with potential expansion into more departments around Royal Inland Hospital in the future.

by Michael Reeve

Click here to report an error or typo in this article

Royal Inland Hospital rolls out new sensory robot to help calm patients in the ER

Our Community