National University of Ireland Galway’s Health Innovation. Source: Engineering (HIVE) labA team of scientists from the National University of Ireland Galway’s Health Innovation via Engineering (HIVE) lab has developed a drone that is capable of emitting ultraviolet (UV) light to sterilize surfaces in public places amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Called UVC Drone, the device is designed to sterilize public spaces — including restaurants, hospital wards, shopping centers and airports, for example — from above with rays from the UVC (100 nm to 280 nm) band of UV light, emitting high frequency, short wavelength bursts of radiation that are imperceptible to the human eye.

Led by artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms, the drones can emit the microorganism-killing light, which is dangerous for humans, over predetermined locations and times — generally at night and when the space is unoccupied.

UVC Drone joins a number of automated disinfecting solutions to emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic. Among those solutions are robots designed to disinfect hospital, airplane and subway surfaces.