You read that right. Tech company Ubtech has created a robot they call “Adibot” that uses UV light to disinfect large areas extremely quickly.
How quick?
CNET reports that Adibot can disinfect a 1,000 square foot space in just under 2 minutes, providing hospital-grade disinfection.
The robot uses RGB cameras to detect if people are entering the room while it’s working — namely because UV light can be harmful to people. But with safety measures in place, the UV light is extremely effective at stopping all kinds of pathogens, including of course COVID-19.
The Adibot-A is a bit like a supercharged Roomba in the sense that it can map out an area and move on its own, and can even be linked with additional Adibots to tag-team large areas even more quickly.
Ubtech currently isn’t aiming these Adibots at consumers, largely because they are cost-prohibitive at over $20,000. But for educational institutions and even large offices there could be a real business case for them.
As big of a price tag as these bots may seem, compared to other very expensive cleaning measures schools have had to take on, this could help make regular disinfection far more feasible in years to come.