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Problem: Remote control carts behaved erratically
Thirty unmanned remote control carts were supposed to deliver items to various destinations by following antennas buried in a hospital's floor. The thirty 750-pound carts got lost, went to wrong destinations, didn't return to their dispatch point, and rammed elevator doors that were very costly to repair. The system had never functioned properly and all attempts to make it do so had failed miserably.
Task: Replace the existing discrete logic that controlled the carts with a computer
Items to be developed included software to direct the carts to their destinations and two sets of printed-circuit boards (PCBs). One set would control the cart/antenna communication. The other set would control the large display panel that showed the locations of all the carts.
The Result:
The system was operational in less than four months. It operated without error until a board in the computer supplied by the hospital failed three years later.