Exterminate! Robot blasts mall with UV light to fight virus

Exterminate! Robot blasts mall with UV light to fight virus

A newly-developed robot is being deployed into malls in Singapore to fight the new coronavirus outbreak, not with chemicals, but with UV light.

Instead of spraying chemicals such as hydrogen peroxide, the Sunburst UV Disinfecting Mobile Robot completely relies on its ultraviolet lamps to sterilize not only surfaces, but hard-to-reach crevices and even the air.

Derrick Yap, CEO of Singapore-based robot developer PBA, says that the COVID-19 pandemic has created the ideal conditions, which he describes as "dangerous, dull, and dirty," for deploying such a robot.

The UV lights can be harmful to the human skin and eyes, so the Sunburst UV robot undergoing trials since April only disinfects a mall, owned by Frasers Property, after operating hours.