Germ-killing Robots to fight against Ebola

The US military has enlisted a new germ-killing weapon in the fight against Ebola which is a four-wheeled robot that can disinfect a room in minutes with pulses of ultraviolet light. Sending out 1.5 pulses per second in a 10-foot (three-meter) radius, the robots use xenon, a non-toxic gas, to create the ultraviolet rays that eradicate germs faster and more thoroughly than any human cleaning crew and doctors. The robot is currently a part of the Ebola mitigation strategy, but will be used across the hospitals to combat a variety of other pathogens known to cause hospital acquired infections. Although ultraviolet light has been around for decades as a tool for cleaning, the new robot uses environmentally-friendly xenon instead of mercury-vapour bulbs that are slower-acting and toxic, according to Texas-based Xenex Disinfection Service, who manufactured the machine. Researchers say the disinfecting Robot is just one example of how autonomous devices could play a crucial role in the fight against the Ebola outbreak in West Africa.