June 2019

Robot Destroys Hospital Bugs - IERA Award 2019

“We are incredibly proud of winning the IERA Award 2019 for a ground-breaking product,” said Claus Risager, CEO of Blue Ocean Robotics. “Everyone can feel safe in rooms that have been disinfected by the robot. Our UVD Robot not only reduces the risk of patients contracting hospital-related infections, but also to a high extent visitors and hospital staff.” Blue Ocean Robotics is a Danish manufacturer of service robots for the healthcare, hospitality, construction and agricultural sectors based in Odense. The UV disinfection robot is sold by its subsidiary, UVD Robots.

UVD Robot disinfects all contact surfaces autonomously

Infections acquired in hospitals cause significant costs in the healthcare sector: In the EU, these costs amount to 7 billion euros. The source of infections can be other patients or staff and even equipment or the hospital environment. The UVD Robot drives around and positions itself autonomously in relation to its surroundings. The machine treats surfaces in a hospital ward with light from several angles and up close. The robot disinfects all contact surfaces, stopping at predefined hotspots that require a longer time of exposure. The UV disinfection robot does not replace the manual cleaning process - it is designed as a complimentary activity and always works in enclosed spaces.

Collaborative robot contains number of safety features

As exposure of UV-C light toward humans should be avoided, the robot contains a number of safety features: for example, a tablet which is placed on the door of the patient room acts as a motion sensor – it automatically disengages the UV-C light if someone wants to enter the room.

The technology has been developed in cooperation with leading hospitals in Scandinavia. First sales have been made in the Middle East and Asia. In future, the robot can also be applied to other environments requiring diligent disinfection such as food production or laboratories.

IERA Award honours collaboration of science and industry

The IERA Award is one of the world’s most prestigious awards in robotics. It honours the collaboration between science and industry in the production of robots and is jointly awarded by the International Federation of Robotics (IFR) and the IEEE Robotics and Automation Society (IEEE/RAS), the world’s largest technical professional organization.