SK Telecom has developed a new autonomous robot that will handle disinfection and monitoring duties to assist in preventing the spread of COVID-19, the company said Tuesday.
The robot, which was co-developed with South Korean industrial automation solution provider Omron, will disinfect designated areas using ultraviolet lamps.
It will also monitor the temperature of peoples around it and check weather they are wearing face masks.
The robot will send the temperature data via 5G networks to the central server.
Those who are not wearing masks will be asked to do so by the robot if there are too many people around, SK Telecom said, which will use the telco’s self-developed facial recognition technology.
The carrier said the robots will lessen workloads of staff at companies who are performing monitoring duties amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
The robots have been deployed at SK Telecom’s headquarters in Seoul.
The company will launch the robot for sale in South Korea in the second half of the year. It will began exporting them abroad next year.
