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Coronavirus-Zapping Robots Are Rolling Out in the Wild
But there’s still a long way to go before UV-blasting devices hit the mainstream
San Antonio International Airport recently welcomed a new employee: a wheelchair-sized robot called the LightStrike that zaps the coronavirus and other pathogens with ultraviolet light. As the Washington Post reported on Tuesday, the $125,000 LightStrike spits out pulsating bursts of UV light while a human operator wheels it around the airport. Any SARS-CoV-2 particle lurking within a seven-foot radius of this thing is donezo, according to Xenex, the robot’s manufacturer.
Other airports, suffering from reduced business during the pandemic, are reportedly considering getting in on the LightStrike action. But don’t expect virus-zapping robots to hit the mainstream sanitation market just yet. As Julie Halpert previously wrote in OneZero, the science behind Xenex’s robots and similar devices is sound, but high costs, together with negative perceptions about UV light and concerns about the devices’ efficacy, remain obstacles.
