Summary：Hong Kong's railway services provider has deployed 20 robots it co-developed with a local technology company t...

Hong Kong's railway services provider has deployed 20 robots it co-developed with a local technology company to disinfect railway stations and train carriages to more effectively protect passengers and staff members from the novel coronavirus.

MTR Corp said on Wednesday that the Vaporized Hydrogen Peroxide Robot jointly developed with biotechnology company Avalon was designed for deep cleaning. It can operate automatically or through remote control by MTR workers.

If there is a special situation, such as a passenger vomiting on a train, MTR staff will deploy the robot to perform deep cleaning with special disinfectants in addition to regular cleaning with diluted bleach water, the company said.

The 70-kilogram robot was once dispatched to sterilize the staff-only area at the Mong Kok East station, where an employee was diagnosed with COVID-19 on Feb 25.

MTR and Avalon are also testing the use of air filters made with nano technology to further improve the air quality in stations.