St. Pancras International has become the first train station in the UK to introduce autonomous cleaning robots following the need for heightened hygiene measures.
Supplied by UVD Robots, an ultraviolet robot (UVD), initially designed for hospital use to reduce the risk of infection, will now be used throughout the station’s concourse and facilities.
The UVD uses UV-C light rays to allow for chemical free disinfection across large areas. The fully autonomous robot can kill over 99% of viruses and bacteria on surfaces and in the surrounding air, including coronavirus.
The UVD will be used in conjunction with an ultrasonic disinfection atomiser cleaning robot known as Eco Bot 50. Supplied by Industrial Cleaning Equipment under its ICE Co-Botics range, the robot cleans and disinfects surfaces simultaneously with an automated scrubber dryer. It also requires limited human interaction as it features auto-charge, drain and refill capabilities.. St Pancras said this allows it to provide 24/7 cleaning.
Jay Newton, head of stations engineering and operations, said: “We are the first train station to bring this type of technology in because we want to allow people to use a train station with confidence, use our retail units with confidence, and slowly get back to a normal way.”
The robots will support St Pancras’ manual cleaning teams.
