Milagrow Seagull and other Cleaning Robots: The Case for Automating Sanitizing Processes in Hospitals, Schools, and Markets
Technology has always been on the forefront fighting off any crisis. During the Spanish flu, epidemiology developed as a field greatly to combat the virus. Later, during the smallpox epidemic, the push for vaccination led to the eradication of the infectious disease. Today, during the covid-19 pandemic, things are very much the same. Technologies like additive manufacturing, artificial intelligence and neural networks combined with the power of Open Source Innovation is rapidly changing the shape of products and their power.
Technology is being adapted in many different ways during the pandemic. First and foremost is the push to develop effective treatment and vaccines. The second way is for tech to find a way to halt the spread of the vaccine. And this sector has seen large expansion over the course of the pandemic.
The consumer and social sectors have seen a large push for cleaning products. From the Milagrow Seagull to UV disinfection systems to air purifiers. All these products claim to some degree or the other to remove the covid-19 virus from surfaces, liquids and the air. And many of them have proven effective.
This is why we are now seeing the adoption of cleaning robots in public places across the world. UVD robots for example are being used to disinfect patient rooms and hospitals to ensure cleanliness using UV disinfection technology. Similarly, the XOBOT, developed by Nanyang Technological University, Singapore can be used to disinfect hospitals as well.
While these robots are only being used in hospitals so far, their effectiveness has been proven. This opens the way for them to be used in other scenarios as well — in schools, in markets and in other public places. While the humble Milagrow can be used for homes, it lacks the sophistication to take on the coronavirus. Yet there has been a considerable increase in interest in it as well.
The one point of concern is the technology used. Not only is it so far in its early stages, it is also not viable for use on human skin. This means that the adoption of such robots should be carried out with great care. In other words, if these robots are to be applied to schools and public areas, it should be with awareness campaigns of the associated do’s and don’ts.
Either way, these advances in robotics represent a huge opportunity to fight back against the covid-19 virus. With the correct application of these technologies we will be able to make our public spaces safe again. Safer, in fact, than they have ever been.
