Virus-killing robots move from hospitals to public spaces
It might not be as coolastheendoskeletonfrom “The Terminator” or as amiable as Rosie from “The Jetsons,” but a Florida airport is gettingitsownrobotdesigned to kill COVID-19 and other pathogens.
The machine began this month patrolling Key West International Airport after hours, emitting high-intensity ultraviolet light that kills bacteria and viruses in the air and on surfaces. It’s not yet clearwhether the nightly disinfections will have a substantialeffectagainstthethousands of travelers bringing new germs through the airport every day.
Richard Strickland, director of airports for Monroe County, said the $100,000 robot’s acquisitionwas motivated by a desire to augment the airport’s other cleanliness and passenger protection practices in the coronavirus era.
“Passengers should know that, astheytraveltoKeyWest International Airport and utilize the facilities here, that we’vemade every effort possible against the COVID to protect passengers’ safety,” Strickland said.
Themachine, builtby Denmark- based UVD Robots, features a vertical UV lamp mounted on a moving robot base. It’s nearly 6 feet (about 1.8 meters) tall and weighs over 300 pounds (about 136 kilograms).
James Malley, a civil and environmental engineering professor at theUniversity of NewHampshire, said ultraviolet light has been used for decades as adisinfectant, but it has limitations.
UVlights shouldbeused as an additional barrier to infection, not as a replacement for traditionalcleaning, socialdistancing and wearing masks, Malley said.
Mike Price, an infection prevention specialist with iP Program, walks and programs an ultraviolet lightemitting robot at KeyWest International Airport Wednesday, Dec. 9.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, person-to-person contact is the primarymeans of spreading coronavirus. It’s possible for a person to catch the disease by touching infected respiratory dropletsona surface or objectand then touching their mouth, nose or eyes, but experts says it’s less common and can be prevented by regular handwashing.
Malley said multiple studies have shown that UV light is effective in reducing overall infections in hospitals, but the usefulness of the lights specifically against COVID19 in airports and other public spaces, where large numbers of people pass through withnewgermsonanhourly basis, remains to be seen.
“It’s not a magic bullet,” Malley said. “How much it’s doing is hard to quantify because the studies always come later.”
UVD Robots CEO Per Juul Nielsen said the device starts around $70,000and goesup basedonaccessories. Besides airports, the robot can be programmedtomove autonomously around shopping malls, hotels, cruise ships and other large structures while an operator remotely
oversees its progress.
UVD Robots started several years ago, long before the pandemic, as a partnership between parent company Blue Ocean Robotics and Denmark’s health care system. The objectivewas to help prevent patients from being infected with newbacteria and viruses after being admitted to hospitals.
Whensales began in 2018, Nielsen said hospitals and other life science businesses made up about 90% of their customers. Nielsen said the business has grown nearly tenfold over the past year amid the coronavirus outbreak, withonlyabout60% of sales nowgoing to hospitals.
The robot is designed to remove 99.9% of pathogens, including COVID-19, Nielsen said.
Dario Gristina, CEOofNew York-based energy management company CPL Group USA, startedPleXusHealthScience earlier this year to build and market stand-aloneUVC lamps. Whilearobot-mounted lamp might be tasked with covering more than a mile of corridors in a night, Gristinasaidhiscompany’slamps are ideal for restaurants and offices, where they can be put inonespotandleft alone.