PHOENIX — What is the most bizarre thing you've heard in 2020, and would a "coronavirus-zapping" robot make the list?
It’s been a weird year.
Either way, they exist and were used to disinfect Bank Of America Stadium including the visiting team locker room the Arizona Cardinals used on Sunday.
Xenex LightStrike Robots have been used for years mostly to disinfect hospitals, but they’re now making their way to NFL stadiums.
“These robots have been used in about 750 hospitals around the world,” said Xenex CEO Morris Miller. “Since COVID-19 hit, we've seen a huge pull from other industries.”
The robots are used all over the stadium including bathrooms, offices and locker rooms.
“This is the world’s most powerful UV robot and it was shown to eliminate 99.99% of the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes Covid-19 in two minutes. The robot will project it’s high-intensity ultraviolet light about two to six meters around the robot. If you think about a locker room, you’re going to move it from locker to locker. It might get two to three lockers at a time on both sides of an aisle.”
The technology hopefully provided a little peace of mind as the Cardinals checked off their first of three straight road games on Sunday.
“What the Cardinals can feel comfortable with is they’re going into a stadium and into a locker room that is as disinfected as it can possibly be.”
The robots are used all over the Phoenix area in hospitals like Honor Health and the Mayo Clinic. They come with a price tag of $125,000.