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'Robot workers' from Automation Anywhere to serve NHS

A START-UP launched by an Indian American has secured a deal to supply robot workers to NHS hospitals. 

Automation Anywhere is set to run its digital workforce in two hospitals.  


The robots will help with back office tasks in Chelsea and Westminster Hospital and the West Middlesex University Hospital.

Automation Anywhere chief executive Mihir Shukla said ahead of the NHS launch that he expected as many as three million robot workers to be deployed by the company by 2020.

Its software, which can be plugged into any computer, can be used to make otherwise routine or repetitive tasks automatic.

The US firm will initially see its technology used at a Centre of Excellence for the Trust’s 6,000 employees, with plans to expand it for NHS teams around the UK.

These robots will initially stick to back office works, said Sandra Easton, chief financial officer at the Trust. 

The start-up has secured a $300 million funding round from Japanese technology investing giant Softbank. 

The robots serve as a computer program that runs tasks mechanically instead of them being done manually by a worker, to save time up to 50 per cent. 

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Iran conflict forces airlines to cut nearly two million seats from May schedules

May looks manageable, but disruptions could worsen by June if the Strait of Hormuz stays closed

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Iran conflict forces airlines to cut nearly two million seats from May schedules

Highlights

  • German airports face heaviest flight cuts.
  • Fuel prices doubled since Iran conflict began.
  • UK heavily dependent on Middle East imports.
Airlines worldwide have removed more than 13,000 flights from their May schedules as the ongoing conflict in Iran causes severe jet fuel shortages and sharp price increases, according to aviation analytics company Cirium.
The cancellations represent nearly two million passenger seats cut from global schedules.
Cirium analysed flight data between 10 April and 21 April, finding that total scheduled flights for May dropped from 859,162 to 846,162 as fuel shortages worsened.

German airports are experiencing the worst disruptions, with Munich, Frankfurt and Stuttgart seeing the most cancellations.

Lufthansa, Germany's largest airline, announced last month it would cancel 20,000 flights because of rising fuel costs.

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