Bloodbot draws blood, inspires fear

We’ve seen our fair share of scary robots in these parts, and we’re not going to mince words here: there is no way we are going anywhere near one that’s armed with a hypodermic needle — and we sure as hell aren’t going to sit still and let it draw blood! Currently being developed by a team at Imperial College in London, the Bloodbot is designed to probe your arm for the presence of a vein, stick you with the needle, puncture the vein, and then stop short of rupture. The system, which has thus far only been tested on one patient (sounds like we’re not the only ones with reservations regarding the device) has been accurate about 78 percent of the time, meaning it only resulted in screaming fits 22 percent of the time — unlike your friendly neighborhood nurse or medical technician, who is accurate nearly 100 percent of the time (and still inspires the occasional fit, but that’s another story).

[Via Switched]