{"id":430318,"date":"2023-01-09T16:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-01-09T15:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/innovationorigins.com\/?p=430318"},"modified":"2023-01-09T16:00:00","modified_gmt":"2023-01-09T15:00:00","slug":"with-akara-robots-hospitals-get-disinfected-faster","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/en\/with-akara-robots-hospitals-get-disinfected-faster\/","title":{"rendered":"With Akara robots, hospitals get disinfected faster"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Since the COVID-19 outbreak, we have learned about the importance of disinfection \u2013 especially in critical environments. Akara Robotics<\/a> had already seen the problem before the pandemic, as in 2019 they started working on data-driven autonomous disinfection robots. Niamh Donnelly is Akara\u2019s co-founder and Chief Robotics Officer. She won the 2022 EU Prize for Women Innovators<\/a> in the rising innovators’ category \u2013 for participants under 35 years of age \u2013 awarded by the European Innovation Council<\/a>.\u00a0 Donnelly spoke to Innovation Origins for this instalment of the start-up of day series<\/a>, right after receiving the European accolade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Congratulations on this achievement. How does it feel to receive such a prize at such a young age?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt does feel amazing. Building a start-up is hard at times, but this award is recognition for the work we\u2019ve done. I\u2019m extremely passionate about what we do at Akara and I really believe robotics has the capability of changing our healthcare system.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is Akara robotics about?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOur mission is to make hospitals more efficient, so we built robots that can clean rooms autonomously. With manual cleaning, it can take up to an hour to clean a CT scan room, for instance. This means that fewer people can get a scan. If we can decrease the time it takes to decontaminate a room, more examinations can be performed. One of the disinfection robots we designed shines UV light on a surface, breaking down bacteria, while another purifies the air. It\u2019s a way to give cleaners more tools than a mop and a bucket.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How does the disinfection robot work?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen we work with a new hospital, we start by mapping out the entire floor. Then \u2013 by looking at each room \u2013 we figure out what the major points are that manual cleaning misses. After that, we build a framework for the robot to autonomously move around. Whenever somebody needs to clean a room, it\u2019s just a matter of clicking a button on the robot and it will autonomously shine light in different areas.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How do you make sure that the robot fits in every hospital setting?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

“Hospitals have been helped by giving them a standard, just like procedures, for using the robot. They can make slight adjustments to the operation of the robot as needed. Hospitals are good places for robots, they have wide open doors, and the floors are flat, which makes it easier for them to move around.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What other applications are you targeting?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe see the need for this technology and many other applications too. Nursing homes for instance. They\u2019re places full of people who are vulnerable to flu and to viruses in general. Furthermore, it\u2019s hard to keep them clean, because of the fabrics inside, people coming in and out, and the many group interactions. The next step would probably be to focus on this application or on another health-related one.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What challenges did you face?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBuilding a start-up means living on the edge. Especially in deep tech and robotics, you\u2019re dependent on venture capitalists\u2019 investment or European funding. Whether you get that or not might represent the end of your company. For me, the hardest part was being worried about failure.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Akara\"
Akara Robotics’s team – \u00a9 Akara Robotics<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

What\u2019s next for Akara Robotics?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOur robots are now operating in several Irish and British hospitals. We\u2019re still piloting the technology to build on the best way the robot should work in those settings. Meanwhile, we\u2019re getting the CE marking \u2013 Conformit\u00e9 Europ\u00e9enne<\/em>, European Conformity. Once we have it, we plan to increase the number of robots we have in our current hospitals, and to expand across Europe.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

<\/a>
<\/div><\/div>
Start-up of the day archive – Innovation Origins<\/div>
Spread all over Europe, thousands of start-ups have the most innovative ideas. Innovation Origins puts them in the spotlight every day.<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n

Women found fewer start-ups than men do. In your case, what made a difference in choosing this path?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen I was in school, I\u2019ve always loved math and sciences, but when I was sixteen, I started to move a bit away from them. The pivotal moment was when I one to a high school camp, where I got to build robots and use technology, I became fascinated by it. My dad also played a role, he\u2019s an engineer and was supportive and guided me towards this path. If young women don\u2019t have that kind of support, it\u2019s hard to see them succeed. It\u2019s important that the society makes sure that everyone gets help.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What would you say to a young woman who wants to start her own company?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI would say go ahead and do it, it\u2019s probably one of the most rewarding things you can do, and you won\u2019t be doing it just for yourself. Having more women building companies creates more diversity in businesses, leadership, and products.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Since the COVID-19 outbreak, we have learned about the importance of disinfection \u2013 especially in critical environments. Akara Robotics had already seen the problem before the pandemic, as in 2019 they started working on data-driven autonomous disinfection robots. Niamh Donnelly is Akara\u2019s co-founder and Chief Robotics Officer. She won the 2022 EU Prize for Women […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2084,"featured_media":515962,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"views\/single-startup.blade.php","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"advgb_blocks_editor_width":"","advgb_blocks_columns_visual_guide":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3009],"tags":[38191,27479,9224,35348],"location":[59761],"article_type":[6758],"serie":[],"archives":[],"internal_archives":[],"reboot-archive":[],"class_list":["post-430318","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-startup","tag-disinfection","tag-hospitals","tag-robots-en","tag-start-up-of-the-day","location-ireland","article_type-interview"],"blocksy_meta":[],"acf":{"subtitle":"Each day, we put a start-up in the spotlight. Today it\u2019s Akara Robotics, which makes disinfection robots for hospitals. ","text_display_homepage":false},"author_meta":{"display_name":"Mauro Mereu","author_link":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/author\/mauro-mereu\/"},"featured_img":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/pose-2.png","coauthors":[],"tax_additional":{"categories":{"linked":["Start-ups<\/a>"],"unlinked":["Start-ups<\/span>"]},"tags":{"linked":["disinfection<\/a>","hospitals<\/a>","robots<\/a>","Start-up of the day<\/a>"],"unlinked":["disinfection<\/span>","hospitals<\/span>","robots<\/span>","Start-up of the day<\/span>"]}},"comment_count":"0","relative_dates":{"created":"Posted 3 years ago","modified":"Updated 3 years ago"},"absolute_dates":{"created":"Posted on January 9, 2023","modified":"Updated on January 9, 2023"},"absolute_dates_time":{"created":"Posted on January 9, 2023 4:00 pm","modified":"Updated on January 9, 2023 4:00 pm"},"featured_img_caption":"","series_order":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/430318","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2084"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=430318"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/430318\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/515962"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=430318"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=430318"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=430318"},{"taxonomy":"location","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/location?post=430318"},{"taxonomy":"article_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article_type?post=430318"},{"taxonomy":"serie","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/serie?post=430318"},{"taxonomy":"archives","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/archives?post=430318"},{"taxonomy":"internal_archives","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/internal_archives?post=430318"},{"taxonomy":"reboot-archive","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/reboot-archive?post=430318"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}