Mr. Roboto Meets Fayetteville

Collier Drug Stores Inc. in Fayetteville is testing a $186,000 robotic arm that can fill 100 prescriptions per hour. The pharmacy was apparently chosen by researchers at Auburn University in Alabama to help test the device on a recommendation from Doug McCrew, a representative of the National Association of Pharmacies.

Carl Collier, the company’s owner, said ScriptPro Pharmacy Automation Inc. of Mission, Kan., wanted a “forward-thinking pharmacy” to test its ScriptPro 200.

The machine has holding cells for the 200 most frequently used pharmaceuticals on the market. Its computer takes an order, counts out pills and sends a vial along a conveyor belt to a pharmacist who checks the order for accuracy.

The system offers on-screen visual confirmation and is supposed to be more accurate than humans. It also tracks prescriptions within the system and offers additional safety checks.

System add-ons can run its cost to $230,000, but Collier’s is getting to test drive it for free. The average processing time per order is 18 seconds.