Pittsburgh Airport To Use Robots, Ultraviolet Light To Sanitize

PITTSBURGH, PA — Amid the coronavirus outbreak, Pittsburgh International Airport has become the nation's first airport to incorporate a new disinfecting strategy using robots and ultraviolet light.

Airport officials also are looking to incorporate ultraviolet disinfecting technology in additional ways, including the sterilizations of handrails on escalators and moving walkways, elevator buttons and other high-touch areas.

The airport has partnered with Pittsburgh-based Carnegie Robotics is the first step of an airport-wide strategy to deploy technology solutions and multi-layered cleaning processes to enhance the health and safety of the traveling public. The technology is designed to kill microbes in high-traffic areas, increasing cleanliness and helping to restore confidence in traveling.

“We appreciate the ongoing partnership with Carnegie Robotics, one of the great organizations which calls our region home,” Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald said in a release. “The Airport Authority is always at the forefront of technologies and, in this case, is using these Carnegie Robotics innovations to protect passengers and staff and enhance the travelers’ experience.”

The pandemic’s impact on the aviation industry has been dramatic, with passenger traffic falling more than 90 percent as social distancing and stay-at-home orders remain in effect. As part of the solution, the airport hopes to speed the industry’s rebound through technology solutions.

“The health and safety of airport staff and the traveling public are always the top priorities,” airport CEO Christina Cassotis said. “We know that restoring confidence in travel is going to be key to the industry recovery. That’s why we’re partnering with world-leading Pittsburgh technology companies to help develop solutions.”

Developed in conjunction Carnegie Robotics, Nilfisk’s Liberty SC50 Autonomous Scrubber/Dryer is a commercial-grade, fully autonomous, robotic floor-cleaning machine.

What makes the airport’s system unique is the integration of a UVC fixture that emits intense ultraviolet rays on the floor, sanitizing the surface after the scrubber has cleaned it. Hospitals and laboratories have used ultraviolet light as a disinfectant for years, and now Pittsburgh International and Carnegie Robotics are testing that technology to safely treat public spaces in the U.S. airport sector.

The airport is currently testing the autonomous scrubbers in the terminals, and officials expect them to be deployed soon as part of the airport’s daily cleaning routines.