LG Electronics announced that it is developing an autonomous robot that will use ultraviolet (UV-C) light to disinfect high-touch, high-traffic areas. LG Business Solutions USA plans to offer the UV robot to U.S. hospitality, education, corporate, retail, restaurant, and transportation customers in early 2021.
To be officially unveiled at Digital CES 2021, LG’s new robot is expected to enable a new standard of hygiene by helping to disinfect high-touch, high-traffic areas. Because of its autonomous design, the robot will be able to move easily around tables, chairs and other furniture, generally irradiating a room’s touchable surfaces in 15 to 30 minutes, disinfecting multiple areas on a single battery charge.
Engineered to be easy to operate, the robot can be integrated into established cleaning routines without requiring extensive staff training or specialists to operate it. Staff will be able to monitor progress via remote updates to smartphones or tablets. Employee exposure to UV rays will be minimized through a built-in safety lock activated by human motion detection sensors, pressing of an emergency stop button or via the mobile application.
“We hope LG’s first UV disseminating robot will give our customers, and in turn their customers, peace of mind,” explained Michael Kosla, vice president, LG Business Solutions USA. “Whether it’s hotel guests, students in classrooms or patrons of restaurants and other businesses, they can rest assured that the LG autonomous UV robot will help reduce their exposure to harmful bacteria and germs,” he said.
“A higher level of disinfection is going to become the new customer expectation in the new contactless economy where we now all live, work, learn and play,” Kosla said. “LG is bringing to bear its expertise in robotics, artificial intelligence and autonomous vehicles for creative solutions like this to meet specific customer requirements.”
