- Kyoritsu Electric India has collaborated with Indian startup Sagar Defence Engineering
- The company informed that this robot has been jointly developed with DRDO
- It has been tested by DRDO and the Mumbai Police
Kyoritsu Electric India, in collaboration with Indian startup named Sagar Defence Engineering has announced the launch of a UV-C robot named Automated Contamination Eliminator (ACE). The company said that ACE promotes clean and chemical free technology to dis-infect. It can be used to dis-infect various public and private spaces like production floors, workplaces, corporate offices, hospitals, airports, metro, warehouses, schools, hotels, railways, etc.
“Swimming through the dynamic tides of the ever-evolving electronics industry is second nature to us. The current pandemic has now posed a never-seen before challenge in front of us, especially the manufacturing industry – “to safeguard our spaces without any collateral damage caused to electronics by using liquid and fogging sanitization methods”. And we are ready to take it head on too– with the UV-C light disinfecting robot” stated Prashant Patil, COO, Kyoritsu Electric India in an exclusive conversation with EFY.
Kyoritsu Electric India is a 100 per cent Japanese subsidiary catering to 100+ companies in the electronics manufacturing industry over the last 30 years.
Tested by DRDO and Mumbai police
The company has got this UV-C robot test-certified with an NABL accredited Laboratory. Patil mentioned that the company has also done intensive field trials with the DRDO. The product is being currently being used by the Mumbai Police.
Kyoritsu Electric explaining the pricing part, informed that the robot can be equipped with customised features as desired by a company. Patil said, “We are offering not just the standard system, but also customised ones to suit the customer’s required sanitisation area, thereby making it absolutely economical & cost-effective.”
He added, “We have continuously strive to bring the latest yet cost-optimized technologies to our client’s table from across the globe as well as develop our own exclusive products in-house. Our company has always been one of the early adopters of new & innovative technology in the electronics field & has progressively grown from supply & manufacturing of PCBA testing equipment to a full-fledged turnkey solutions provider in SMT line, factory automation and smart factory solutions.”
Jointly developed with DRDO Pune
ACE Dis-infection robot, is jointly developed by Sagar Defence Engineering and the Defence Research and Development Organisation Pune, using UV-C light technology. Studies done by various labs and research institutes on UV-C light have proven that even the Corona-grade viruses get inactive when exposed to UV-C light wavelength. The company said it can kill 99.9 per cent viruses, bacteria and germs.
“We ourselves were encountering the dis-infecting challenge on our in-house production floor. What we needed was an innovative and sensible solution to tackle this delicate aspect of major workspaces, especially electronics-heavy spaces,” informed Patil.
He added, “This is where our partnership with the promising and unique start-up Sagar Defence Engineering (SDE) shaped up; for the sale and development of their UV-C Disinfecting Robot – ACE in India and overseas market”.
This robot has been built as indigenously as possible. It has been designed and manufactured in India completely. Around 95 per cent of the military-grade components used in the robot is sourced from within India, while the rest have been imported.
Isn’t UVC unsafe for humans?
The company said that the idea of a remotely-operated vision based UVC robot was developed keeping human safety in mind. This UVC Robot, as Kyoritsu informed, is built from military-grade components and can be easily operated from a safe distance. The company said it is also providing safe operating procedures to the clients based on application area, cleaning frequency and other aspects.
“As the coronavirus pandemic knocks world economies on their heels, it was found that the Covid 19 virus can be killed by exposure to the UVGI method. There are three grades of UV light: UV-A, UV-B and UV-C. If exposed directly all these are harmful to human skin,” informed Patil.
He added, “We are using UV-C grade in our robot. However, needless to say, required care & precautions must be followed as per application protocols while operating any UV product, including ours.”
