Raise your hands if you have purchased groceries and while stepping into your home, worried that along with bringing home some greens and pulses, you have brought along the dreaded Coronavirus as well. CoronaOven could well be a solution to this worry. Certified by the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru, this device uses UV lights and other design parameters to disinfect surfaces from not just viruses, but germs and bacteria as well. It works on masks, groceries and many other objects. All you have to do is open the lid, place the item (upto 33 litres of volume) and switch it on to initiate the 10-20 minute long disinfecting process. It's that simple.
Within no time
CoronaOven is the brainchild of Bengaluru-based start-up Log 9 Materials, a CleanTech company that specialises in energy products. The company fast-tracked the ideation and production of CoronaOven so much so that it all started on March 24 and it was ready in 15 days flat. Over time, they also were certified by IISc and a bunch of other labs as well. "One of the labs actually placed a COVID-19 sample inside the CoronaOven and found that it indeed had neutralised the virus," informs Log 9's Founder Akshay Singhal. Reminding us about the importance of such a device, he says, "Our frontline workers have access to only so many masks. So if they keep reusing it without sanitising it, the mask itself might become a health hazard. The CoronaOven helps keep objects safe and because of it, one will use fewer masks too," he explains. Thus, the first batch of this product was shipped on April 10.
Most of the police stations in Bengaluru use CoronaOven today and the feedback has been positive."Before going home, they can sanitise their phone, keys and other objects and not worry about carrying pathogens home. Hence, it has also given them peace of mind," shares Akshay. He even assures that it would be a great hit in hospitals too because the typical sterilisation chambers that they usually have takes four to five hours while the CoronaOven does the job in ten minutes or less.
.jpg?w=640&auto=format%2Ccompress)
Safe and sound
But if you think that there is any hesitation with regard to the device being used at home, since it involves UV lights, the entrepreneur dismisses all our worries by saying that the UV rays do not penetrate the surface and work only on the exterior of various objects and groceries. Also, it is the infamous UV A and B wavelengths that are known for their cancer-causing characteristics, whereas UVC, the wavelength that they use, is safe. It also has the highest disinfectant capacity and they don't release any Ozone destroying molecules either. The device is also designed in such a way that anything placed inside it receives 360-degree exposure.
While functioning during the lockdown was a problem, today, they are proud of the fact that over 12,000 units of CoronaOven have been supplied and they get over 150 orders per day. "We are particularly proud of our team of engineers and scientists who are good at innovating, prototyping and coming up with products like these," shares Akshay. They imagine it being deployed in airports, in hotels and restaurants too. Currently, they are working on as many as 10 variants of CoronaOven and the difference is mostly in the size. For now, one can purchase CoronaOven on their website.
To find out more, check out coronaoven.com
