Robot manufacturers join
Covid- 19 fight with
disinfectant-bots
Robot manufacturers are joining the fight againstthe deadly coronavirus by creating autonomousmodels that can navigate through hospitals andother large facilities, disinfecting rooms and othersurfaces that can harbor virus particles.
One disinfectant robot that’s seeing increaseddeployment during the effort to slow the spreadof Covid- 19 is the UVD model, made by Danishmanufacturer Blue Ocean Robotics as a toolto assist human cleaning crews in facilities likeplants, offices, shopping malls, and airports.
Chinese hospitals have recently ordered morethan 2,000 UVD robots, and the units now operate in morethan 40 countries throughout Asia, Europe, and the U.S.,using ultraviolet light (UV-C) to kill harmful microorganisms and cleaning a typical patient room within 10 minutes,according to the International Federation of Robotics.
Chinese retail giant JD.com is also developing robots itsays can prevent the spread of the coronavirus, launching aproject in its logistics innovation lab—known as JD-X—todesign three types of robots to handle disinfection andinspection tasks. JD will develop and produce the robotsthrough a strategic partnership with Gree, a Chinese state-owned manufacturing enterprise.
The units will include both indoor disinfection robots—intended for use in hospitals, airports, office buildings, andsimilar facilities—and outdoor disinfectant robots, built forjobs in industrial parks and school campuses. Both types ofdisinfection robots can automatically spray disinfectant gasand liquid or clean surfaces with ultraviolet lamps, running24 hours a day, JD says. The third type of robot is designedto reduce the spread of the virus through human-to-humancontact by scanning crowds for sick people and issuing awarning if its real-time infrared sensor detects someonewith an abnormal body temperature. n
—Ben Ames
Furniture retail company Ikea has celebrated the grandopening of its 550,000-square-foot distribution center inKleinburg, Ontario, Canada. DHL Supply Chain will operate the facility on Ikea’s behalf. … C&S Wholesale GrocersInc. has announced plans to expand operations into thePacific Northwest with the addition of a new warehousein Troutdale, Oregon. The warehouse is scheduled toopen in the summer of 2020. … Walmart has chosenTopeka, Kansas, as the site of its newest U.S. distributionfacility. The 1. 8 million-square-foot DC is expected to create 300 full-time jobs over the next five years. … ToshibaAmerica Business Solutions has announced plans toopen a distribution facility in Horn Lake, Mississippi.
The 328,355-square-foot facility is scheduled to begin
operations in August. … Transportation and logistics
services provider Pilot Freight Services has expanded its
warehouse capacity in El Paso, Texas, with the opening
of an 80,000-square-foot facility. The addition, which
includes 48,000 square feet of space dedicated to Pilot’s
Foreign Trade Zone operations, brings the company’s
total warehouse capacity in El Paso to 167,000 square
feet. … International express shipping specialist DHL
Express has invested $3.8 million to expand its service
center in Cleveland. The expansion adds nearly 20,000
square feet of space to the facility, which is situated
near the Cleveland Hopkins International Airport. …
Electric vehicle maker BYD (Build Your Dreams) will
open a 50,000-square-foot facility in Rancho Dominguez,
California, later this year. The site, which will support
BYD’s electric forklift business, includes offices, a ware-
house, and demonstration space. … GMax Industries, a
manufacturer and sourcing agent of disposable medical
products, has committed $10.5 million to establish a
manufacturing and distribution operation in Franklin,
Virginia. The facility will centralize the company’s opera-
tions in-house, creating 40 new jobs, GMax says.
GROUND BREAKERS
