A young team of budding entrepreneurs develops India's first UV sterilizing robot

Co-Founder and CEO of Estro Tech Robotics and Innovations Pvt. Ltd., Christo Kollannur along with his team, developed India’s first innovative UV sterilizing robot called ‘Viruzid UV Rover’. The project started in November 2019 as a part of their college final year project. They completed the prototype at the beginning of 2020 and then filed for the patent application.

Viruzid UV Rover is a UVC Disinfection mobile robot, which is an innovative next-generation mobile UV robot. It is designed to efficiently decontaminate spaces and closed areas while allowing the operator to operate with a remote from a distance with live camera feedback for utmost safety. UV disinfection technologies are known to play a major role in a multiple barrier approach to reduce the transmission of viruses and pathogens. Viruzid UV Rover uses high-intensity UV lamps producing short wave ultraviolet light at 254 nm to impair and destroy the exposed surface of pathogens. It is a mobile robot used for air and surface disinfection. The device was developed as a supplement to standard cleaning in rooms where no personnel are present. After completion of a manual cleaning process, the system automatically delivers a dose of germicidal Ultraviolet-C (UVC) energy, which alters the DNA of aggressive pathogens, to kill them. It helps sterilize hospital rooms, production houses, offices, and storage areas without personnel present and provides 360° treatment.

Talking to IBR, Christo says, “I started my start-up along with my friend Christo Varghese last year. I am a young entrepreneur and seeking an opportunity in the field of technology to be a part of world-class, sustainable projects that are challenging, elevating, and contribute significantly to the betterment of mankind.”

His other team members are Christo Varghese, Don Thomas, Adharsh Govind, Rahul Vincent, Alin Ros David, Varsha Vinodand Jackson Christopher.

Talking about the inspiration behind the innovation, Christo says, “This idea started as a final year college project. From the beginning, we were looking for an interesting concept that can make a good social impact. In 2018, there was the Nipah Virus outbreak in Kerala, which resulted in several deaths. This incident inspired us to look for a solution and think about how technology can help if the outbreak repeats itself. We consulted our professors and a doctor from a nearby medical college and understood the need for sanitization. From there, our research began and we started to find technology-based solutions and finally came up with the idea of UV Sterilizing robots.”

The path to innovation is never a joyride. There are bumps and challenges along the way. Their very first challenge was that they are all from a mechanical engineering background, but a robotic project isn’t complete without electronics, programming, and more. So, they took guidance from the experts and selflearned many theories, and began the project. Later on, the expenses incurred for the project posed a challenge. But with the help of bootstrapping, they managed to overcome it. Then came the real obstacle that began in early 2020, when the Covid-19 pandemic started. Labs were closed, industries stopped supplying raw materials, and they were unable to meet to work due to social distancing and the imposed lockdown. But they never gave up and took special permissions from the required authorities and got back to work and completed their first model.

Talking about the future of Viruzid UV Rover, Christo says, “All the trials and tests have been completed for this industrial grade UV sterilizing robot. Now we have launched this product in the market under the Brand name ‘Viruzid UV Rover (UVSR2.0)’, and also, we are conducting Robotic Sanitization works as a service model.”

Currently, Christo is working on pandemic-related projects such as oxygen concentrators and he is planning to donate them to the needy.

Young entrepreneurs like Christo and his team would help lead India to a technologically enhanced country.