BOSTON (WHDH) - Researchers at MIT are developing a robot they hope will help stop the spread of the coronavirus.
The mobile disinfecting robot is currently being used at the Greater Boston Food Bank, where it uses ultraviolet light in the warehouse.
“Our robot drives around these different aisles of staged pallets, and casts its UVC light over these pallets, providing the disinfection,” said researcher Alyssa Pierson.
Ultraviolet light has been used in hospitals to disinfect patients’ rooms as well as operating rooms, and researchers believe it can be used in more public places as well.
“We need new disinfecting techniques, and that’s where ultraviolet light is so promising, both in its ability to neutralize COVID as well as where we can create this autonomous robot that can disinfect a space without exposing more humans and putting more humans at risk,” Pierson said.
Pierson added that the technology would not replace other forms of disinfection.
“We believe that is one piece of the puzzle in figuring out how to mitigate the spread of coronavirus,” she said.
(Copyright (c) 2024 Sunbeam Television. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)