LG has launched the newest addition to its CLOi family of autonomous robots, and this one will use ultraviolet (UV-C) light to help disinfect high-touch, high-traffic areas in places like hotels, schools, offices, restaurants, and retail shops.
The UV robot, which will be available to U.S. hospitality, education, corporate, retail, restaurant, and transportation customers in early 2021, will also be officially unveiled at the Digital CES 2021, the first entirely virtual version of the annual CES event, which typically takes place in Las Vegas.
“We hope LG’s first UV disseminating robot will give our customers, and in turn their customers, peace of mind,” says 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.”
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, says LG. 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.
“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,” adds Kosla. “LG is bringing to bear its expertise in robotics, artificial intelligence and autonomous vehicles for creative solutions like this to meet specific customer requirements.”
This is the first in a series of new LG CLOi autonomous robots planned for introduction in the United States during 2021.