What's New with Cleaning Robots?

The impact of COVID-19 has had many implications. It’s made us more aware of the importance of proper hygienic measures. And it’s brought robots back into focus as an important tool to safely clean and disinfect our spaces.

Let’s take a look at the latest robotic technology that performs these duties.

Household Wonders to Help You Clean

The simplest and most abundant robotic solutions help you clean your home. These robots can help with spring cleaning, daily cleaning, or anything in between. One important area? Cleaning your floors.

More people today choose high-end flooring options over carpeting. Hardwood floors are not only fashionable, but they can also increase the value of your home. Keeping them in their best shape is a great job for robots.

The most popular are robotic vacuums. Consumers have been using this technology for many years now. These autonomous bots have a range of sensors to help them follow the room, protect the furniture, and prevent them from falling down the stairs.

It’s no surprise, then, that robot floor cleaners are also becoming popular. These replace a traditional mop and bucket. Some even work in conjunction with robot vacuums. 

There are, however, many other domestic home cleaning robots that can keep your home in tip-top condition.

• Pet Care Robots
  • Self-cleaning cat litters and automatic feeding and watering robots ensure your furry friends are consistently cared for.
• Pool Cleaning Robots
  • These come in handy to reduce your workload no matter the size of your pool. There are even options for above-ground pools. 
• Robotic Lawnmowers
  • While these may sound intimidating, many feature child safety locks and various sensors that turn the machine off when lifted, tilted, or bumped.

If robots are great to help you clean your home, they are even better for high-traffic locations, like your office.

Cleaning Robots for High-Rise and Business Spaces 

Office spaces and other large venues employ similar technology that is adapted for the need at hand. While it's not practical to get a robotic window cleaner for the average sized-home, skyscrapers benefit from window washing robots or drones. People no longer have to risk life and limb cleaning 60, 70, or even 100 story windows. Plus, this field is not attracting new workers. Robotic window cleaners make sense for business owners.

It’s also challenging to clean public spaces and offices of their dirtiest spots. With so much foot traffic and few medical protocols in place, germs, bacteria, and other harmful microbes can flourish.

The worst areas, especially in a post-pandemic era, include:

• Elevator buttons and door handles
• Desktops and tabletops
• Electronic devices, especially those that are shared, like printers, copiers, and fax machines
• Kitchen areas - a big problem if people are eating there
• Bathrooms

How can you quickly and completely disinfect an office? Today there are office cleaning robots available that use a disinfectant fogging system to do the job. These machines dispense the disinfectant based on the airflow of the building’s HVAC system, adjusting to disperse evenly.

Of course, similar technology is used in a very germ-ridden environment: hospitals.

Medical Facilities

The pandemic posed unique challenges and dangers to these and other medical facilities. How can staff ensure that they protect both their patients and themselves from COVID-19, as well as other deadly pathogens?

Keeping sterile has always been a primary objective in hospitals. In the past, this was handled by only people. Between staff shortages and overflowing medical units, a better way must be found. Medical professionals already have their hands full caring for the sick.

Robotic technology has stepped in to disinfect hospitals. Research shows that ultraviolet light kills viruses such as COVID-19. Equipping disinfection robots with UV technology can help thoroughly disinfect even a clean area. 

However, hospitals are trickier for a robot to navigate than an office space so this method has not yet been widely adopted. Savvy companies are altering these robots to better fit the needs of medical facilities.

While hospitals are a hotbed for harmful microbes, one place that is a true incubator for germs is the airplane.

Air Travel Cleaning Measures

Airplanes are a ubiquitous part of our society for business, leisure, and commerce. However, these tight, insulated tubes can be breeding grounds for pathogens. Pandemic measures can only do so much in a tight space. Robotic cleaning measures to the rescue!

Last year, JetBlue adapted UV light robotic technology to help kill coronavirus and other bacteria and viruses. What is great about this technology is that it can even clean fabric-covered seats. It can also reduce odors. 

Even better, robots cleaners keep COVID-19 patients safe while being on the Life Flight critical care transportation units. The robot for this designated helicopter connects to WiFi and informs the crew, who controls it from outside, how long disinfection will take between patients. This keeps everyone safe and on schedule.

Robotic cleaning measures for both consumer and commercial applications are on the rise. The size and movement ability of these robots may limit how well they are used today. We can expect to see more innovations that allow better access to vulnerable spaces like hospitals and airplanes and more freedom from cleaning at home.