Danish self-driving disinfection robots are now shipping to more than 2,000 hospitals in China to help fight coronavirus.
The news follows an agreement signed by Sunay Healthcare Supply, a medical equipment supplier to the Chinese market, and Danish robotics company UVD Robots.
The first robots were shipped last week and in the following weeks more robots will be shipped via air.
Using ultraviolet light, the robots can disinfect and kill viruses and bacteria autonomously, effectively limiting the spread of coronavirus without exposing hospital staff to the risk of infection.
Through Sunay Healthcare Supply’s partners in China, the robots will be deployed in all Chinese provinces.
“With this agreement, more than 2,000 hospitals will now have the opportunity to ensure effective disinfection, protecting both their patients and staff,” says Su Yan, CEO of Sunay Healthcare Supply.
Now sold in more than 40 countries, UVD Robots currently delivers its self-driving disinfection robots to hospitals in other parts of Asia in addition to healthcare markets in Europe and the USA.
The invention is designed to increase the safety of both staff, patients and their relatives by reducing the risk of contact with bacteria, viruses and other harmful microorganisms.
The concentrated UV-C light emitted by the robots as they drive has a germicidal effect that reportedly removes virtually all airborne viruses and bacteria on the surfaces of a room.
Per Juul Nielsen, CEO of UVD Robots, said he is pleased to be helping combat the spread of the virus in China: “In a severe crisis like this where the world health is threatened, our innovative technology really proves its worth.”
UVD Robots is a portfolio company in Blue Ocean Robotics, which develops a wide range of service robots.
Development of the UVD robot started in 2014, following a request from Danish hospitals searching for an effective way of reducing infection rates in medical facilities.
The collaboration between bacteriologists, virologists, hospital staff, robot developers, designers, engineers, investors and Blue Ocean Robotics led to the robot’s market introduction in 2018.
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