As the novel coronavirus pandemic continues, more robotics vendors are offering disinfection robots to meet global demand. Last week, Omron Asia Pacific announced that it has partnered with Techmetics Robotics LLC to launch the OMRON LD-UVC mobile robot.

“Given the utmost significance of sanitization and disinfection in the post-COVID-19 era, we believe the robot will yield a great value to organizations who are struggling to find the right, effective, less labor-intensive, and long-term solutions to ensure their premises are safe and germ-free,” stated Takehito Maeda, managing director of the industrial automation business at Omron Asia Pacific. “Driven with the mission to contribute to a better society by identifying social needs, Omron seeks to collaborate with capable and like-minded partners to come up with innovative solutions. Our collaboration with Techmetics Robotics signifies the same.”

Omron Asia Pacific is a unit of Kyoto, Japan-based Omron Corp., which supplies control equipment and electronics components to healthcare, environmental, and manufacturing businesses. The company was founded in 1933, has approximately 30,000 employees worldwide, and provides products and services in approximately 120 countries and regions. Omron said it has the largest installed base of mobile robots in the world.

Singapore-based Techmetics Robotics said it is a pioneer in autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) for the healthcare, hospitality, assisted living, casino, and retail industries. It said it has created 10 AMR models to provide end-to-end autonomous delivery of goods. The  company has established its operations in seven countries worldwide through direct offices and its distributors network.

Robot sensing, controls for autonomous disinfection

Disinfection robots increasingly include certain features for killing pathogens, safety, and autonomy. UVC light has been proven to be effective in breaking down the pathogens’ DNA and RNA beyond recovery, thus stopping them from replicating, noted Omron. The OMRON LD-UVC robot can navigate autonomously and disinfect premises including high-touch areas by eliminating 99.90% of bacteria and viruses — both airborne and droplet — by delivering the precise dosage of UVC energy, claimed the company.

Equipped with lasers and passive infrared (PIR) motion sensors for obstacle detection and avoidance, the LD UVC robot can maneuver through narrow corridors, elevators, and automatic doors, said Omron Asia Pacific. The robot can shut off its UVC light upon detecting people to avoid radiation exposure, it added.

The AMR can follow a mapped route indoors, reducing the need for staff time dedicated to manual cleaning, according to Omron. The LD UVC robot also includes safety features such as a bumper, sonar, and emergency stop. The machine has an automatic charging and smooth touch interface for control.

Omron Asia Pacific LD-UVC features

• Eight UVC lamps placed in a circle provide 360° coverage to eliminate 99.90% of bacteria and viruses
• PIR motion sensors on all four sides to detect human presence and trigger UVC light to turn off immediately
• Lidar sensors for toe, high-level, and overhanging obstacles detection to avoid collisions
• Stainless-steel guard to safeguard the lamp from collision against protruding objects
• Built-in audio and visual buzzer, speech, and display to provide warnings before turning on the UVC light
• 13 hours battery life for robot movement, and 3.5 hours for UV operation

Omron Asia Pacific touts ease of use

Omron Asia Pacific said that software integration is simple and that its disinfection robot requires no modification of premises, making it “an ideal gadget for facility management across hospitals, hotels, malls, event venues, airports, and corporate offices.”

“Omron is one of our most trusted partners in the mobile robot domain,” said Mathan Muthupillai, founder and CEO of Techmetics Robotics. “With the introduction of [this] UVC application, we have taken a significant leap together to cater to a very important social need by empowering the organizations with an advanced and effective solution to manage the COVID-19 threat.”