The race to provide healthy buildings and ensure occupant well-being has led to the introduction of disinfecting robots. CCN’s Sandra Rossi reports on new Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) trends that have emerged from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Coretrust Capital Partners has unveiled ADIBOT UV-C Disinfecting Robots that disinfect air and surfaces against COVID-19 and other harmful airborne pathogens.
The robot is the centerpiece of multiple anti-COVID technologies at the company’s office properties in downtown Los Angeles and Philadelphia.
As mask mandates are lifted and people return to the office after a year of isolation, Coretrust has taken building technology to a new level to create safe, healthy and stress-free office environments.
The ADIBOT UV-C Disinfection system is created and manufactured by UBTECH Robotics, a global leader in intelligent humanoid robotics and AI technologies.
The robots use UV-C technology that disinfects air and targeted surfaces to deactivate the DNA and RNA of harmful pathogens. By using UV-C, ADIBOT also reduces interaction with harmful chemicals, one-time use plastics and chemical disposal into the environment.
The system effectively disinfects 99.9 per cent of targeted areas with minimal downtime.
Managing principal and a founder of Coretrust, Thomas S. Ricci, said that as tenants return to work, health and wellness issues are paramount to staff confidence.
“The robots are visible symbols of the anti-COVID technology that stands behind the environmental health of our buildings,” Ricci said.
"We know of no other office owner that has the combination of environmental technology and health and safety operational protocols to combat COVID-19 and other viruses.”
UBTECH senior vice president, John Rhee, said the robots are just one of the technologies deployed to protect building occupants.
"We spend much of our daily lives at the offices so it is a smart strategy for landlords to use intelligent robots as an added cleaning layer to create safer and healthier workplaces,” he said.
“Employers want to make sure they have high standards of cleaning and disinfection to provide a safe environment for staff.”
A major element in achieving virtually hospital grade indoor air quality at all Coretrust properties is the patented Biowall MAX, an Ultraviolet Germicidal Irradiation Air Disinfection system that sterilizes 99.9 per cent of airborne bio-contaminants.
Sanuvox Technologies said it installed the most advanced and effective in-duct UVC air sterilization systems it had for Coretrust.
The company claims the Biowall MAX virtually eliminates the HVAC (Heating Ventilation Air Conditioning) system as a mode of virus transmission.
Along with the Biowall MAX system, Coretrust further enhanced indoor air quality by installing the highest effective MERV air filters, making frequent fresh air purges and allowing maximum fresh air ventilation throughout the day.
Coretrust also added touchless destination dispatch systems to completely modernise elevators at its buildings that allow tenants to use personalized access cards to call cars without touching buttons.
Coretrust has further minimized touch points by adding automatic doors, touchless parking garage entry, touchless security access for visitors, touchless restroom fixtures and NanoSeptic film on common door handles for continuous disinfecting.
When it comes to buildings a major rethink is underway, according to a Honeywell survey of facility managers. The results show that COVID-19 has led to major investments in IAQ optimisation systems. This has accelerated the digital transformation of buildings.
Research firm Frost & Sullivan has examined this shift to find out what products are attracting the most attention.
The firm’s senior industry analyst, Anirudh Bhaskaran, said the physical and mental health and wellness of occupants and overall health performance of buildings has become the top priority for building owners and facility managers in the post-COVID world.
"This will lead to accelerated deployments of cloud-based remote services, workplace analytics, washroom innovations, AI-driven building solutions, high-efficiency particulate absorbing (HEPA) filters, ultraviolet-C (UV-C)-based disinfection, and building health performance benchmarking at a large scale in the next three to five years,” Bhaskaran said.
"Adoption of resilient, futuristic, and innovative business models—digital transformation-as-a-service, air quality-as-a-service, software-as-a-service, pandemic response-as-a-service, and healthy buildings-as-a-service—will ensure the industry's overall growth, unlocking new revenue streams for market participants.
“At the same time, collaboration between architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) industry participants with building management companies will enable customers to unlock the full potential of digital building solutions and present lucrative growth prospects to the market.”