The Danish company, UVD Robots, is producing robots capable of disinfecting hospital patient rooms and operating theaters. They can disinfect just about anything. These robots have powerful short wavelength ultraviolet-C (UVC) lights, which give off energy and destroy DNA from any microorganisms. Due to the coronavirus, the first robots were sent to Wuhan to support their critical situation. There are more robots being sent over to China. The aim of this company is to provide robots to more than 2000 hospitals and medical facilities in China.
The robot has a mobile base with lidar sensors plus UV lamps fixed to the top. In order to deploy the robot, a computer is used to drive it once around. After this, the robot scans the environment using lidars and then creates a digital map. Annotation needs to be indicated on the map and this directs the robot to all the places where disinfection tasks must be performed. Once this has been set up, the robot is able to conduct the necessary tasks on its own. To perform these tasks, the robot will be able to move from its charging station, through hallways and down elevators, and then return to be charged. The robot needs to perform these tasks without people around due to safety concerns. If a person does come into the same room, it will shut off the UV lights. A room normally takes about 10 to 15 minutes to disinfect. The robot will spend 1 to 2 minutes in different positions around the room. It will be able to kill 99.99 percent of germs in only a few minutes. Staff can be freed to do other tasks like interacting with patients. Robots cost between $80,000 and $90,000 and are affordable medical equipment. There are hundreds of these robots working in more than 40 countries.
