Forecasting the Use of Decontamination Robots in the COVID Era

This paper explores the introduction and possible adoption of robots that are designed to clean or decontaminate public spaces, such as airports, lobbies, or medical facilities. Such robots are capable of performing autonomous or semiautonomous cleaning functions. They offer the advantage of cleaning areas that may contain harmful biological agents, like the Sars-Cov-2 virus (also known as COVID-19), without exposing human cleaning crews to the risk of infection. Such robots offer a number of additional advantages, including the ability to work 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, to decontaminate more precisely than human cleaning crews, and a variety of operational characteristics that may make them more efficient and cost-effective than traditional cleaning methods. The initial part of the paper involves a case study of a company called Build with Robots, which is in the process of commercializing robots to perform these types of functions. An overview is provided of the general technology involved with these types of robots, as well as an analysis of the industry, and discussion of commercialization prospects. The paper then conducts a technology forecast to determine overall trends for the development and adoption of this technology. The authors use a bibliometric approach and literature review to gather data sets and perform S-curve analysis. This forecast is then used to provide overall conclusions and recommendations about the current state of this technology and its commercialization prospects.