Digital Guide Florence at Brno Children’s Hospital: A Modern Navigation Solution

Customer Need

At the Brno Children’s Hospital, a large number of newly arriving patients and their parents pass through the facility every day, often struggling to navigate the extensive hospital grounds. As a result, visitors frequently get lost and ask hospital staff or passersby for directions, which increases the workload on hospital employees. An alternative is to get information at the central admissions desk, but this extends waiting times and reduces check-in efficiency. The hospital was seeking a solution that would enable easy navigation for patients and their parents, be user-friendly, and allow for natural communication, similar to asking hospital staff. A key requirement was also 24/7 availability to ensure assistance could be provided at any time.

🧐 Considered Solution Options

The hospital considered several options to address this issue:
  1. Information boards: A traditional solution offering simple navigation. Disadvantages include a lack of interactivity, complex updates, and challenges with multilingual implementation.
  2. Staff expansion: Providing information via staff would be the most comfortable solution, but costly and complex in terms of multilingual support. Additionally, 24/7 operation would generate high expenses.
  3. Interactive map kiosk: A flexible solution with multi-language support, but it often lacks sufficient interactivity and can be difficult for less tech-savvy visitors.
  4. aReception terminal with AI avatar: This option offers an interactive avatar with natural voice communication, touchscreen operation, and the ability to display interactive maps that can be scanned to a mobile phone using a QR code.
The hospital management chose the fourth option, primarily due to the need for greater interactivity and natural voice communication.

Description of the aReception Solution

🖥️ Interactive Terminal with AI Avatar

An interactive aReception terminal was installed in the hospital’s main hall, featuring a moving avatar with live facial expressions, capable of communicating naturally both by voice and text. The terminal provides map data with detailed navigation to outpatient clinics, pharmacies, and other key locations. It also offers operational information, such as opening hours or parking conditions.

🗣️ Voice Interaction and Navigation

Visitors can communicate by voice and ask, for example: “Where is the surgery department?” or “How do I get to the pharmacy?“. The avatar responds both vocally and textually and displays a map with the route highlighted.

📱 Maps and QR Codes for Mobile Navigation

The terminal allows scanning the map via QR code, which the visitor can save to their mobile phone. This provides quick and convenient navigation without needing to reuse the terminal.

🖲️ Button Control on Touch Display

For easier use, the terminal includes buttons for quick selection, such as navigation or service lookup. This mode is also suitable for visitors with hearing impairments.

💡 Controlled Information Output

Due to hospital requirements, responses are not generated directly by AI but selected from predefined answers. This ensures 100% control over the output and eliminates the risk of incorrect information.

🌐 Multilingual Support

The terminal supports Czech and English, with Ukrainian under consideration. Automatic language switching is based on the visitor’s spoken language.

🔧 Installation Requirements

The terminal required a VESA mount, electrical power (230V), and a wired internet connection.
QR kód - navigace dětská nemocnice Brno
Scan the QR code with your phone to view a sample navigation map.

📅 Project Implementation and Milestones

The project was carried out according to the following timeline:
  • September 2023: Initial meeting with Brno Children’s Hospital
  • May 2024: Contract signed
  • July 2024: Terminal delivered and first version deployed
  • August 2024: Pilot operation launched
  • October 2024: Official launch of full operation

Thanks to the smooth implementation process, the project was launched on schedule, and the terminal began serving visitors in the hospital’s main hall already during the pilot phase.

📈 Benefits of aReception.ai

  • Interactivity: Visitors control the interaction themselves and quickly obtain the information they need.
  • Natural communication: The terminal understands common questions, even when phrased indirectly.
  • Precise targeting: Visitors receive an exact route and directions, including a QR code for mobile viewing.
  • Multilingual support: Supports multiple languages, increasing accessibility for international visitors.
  • 24/7 operation: Information is available at any time, regardless of working hours.
  • Scalability: The solution can be easily expanded with additional terminals without the need to train staff.

💰 Cost Calculation and Return on Investment

The digital guide Florence responds to approximately 2,000 inquiries per month. If these inquiries were handled by hospital staff, we estimate an average of 1.5 minutes per inquiry (including greeting, listening, response, clarification, and farewell). This results in a total time savings of 50 hours per month for doctors and medical staff.

📈 Savings Calculation:

  • Average healthcare salary: approx. 43,000 CZK per month
  • Hourly rate including overhead: approximately 360 CZK/hour
  • Time saved: 50 hours per month
  • Total monthly savings: 18,000 CZK

💡 Return on Investment:

  • Terminal rental (Basic Plan): 12,490 CZK per month
  • Immediate savings: With average savings of 18,000 CZK per month, the terminal is profitable from the first month.
  • Terminal purchase (Basic Plan): 109,990 CZK one-time + 4,990 CZK monthly fee
  • Return on investment: With monthly savings of 18,000 CZK, the investment pays off in less than 9 months.

🏆 Results and Benefits for the Hospital

The implementation of the aReception solution has brought significant benefits to Brno Children’s Hospital:
  • Reduced staff workload thanks to improved visitor navigation
  • Cost savings on staff wages through automated response to inquiries
  • Improved satisfaction of patients and their families through fast and accurate navigation
  • Immediate return on investment, delivering long-term financial savings
The virtual guide Florence represents a modern, efficient, and scalable solution that improves service quality and delivers financial benefits. If you’re interested in trying the aReception solution in your organization, we offer the option of a free terminal trial for 2 months.