A school is using robot cleaners to disinfect classrooms in a bid to make them Covid-19 safe for returning pupils and teachers.
The autonomous self-cleaning droids have been used in hospitals and airports before, but this is the first time the pioneering technology has been used in a school.
Each machine patrols the classrooms and corridors, blasting out a powerful UV ray onto surfaces to shred and break down the virus' DNA-structure.
The robots headed into Three Towers Alternative Provision Academy in Hindley, Wigan earlier this week and spent two days blasting bacteria.
Co-inventor Gary Oualnan said: "Everything the light touches is sterilised.
"This technology is new as it removes the need for any manual labour.
"Before, the robots would be programmed to do a few metres of work before the operator had to enter the room again and map out the next the next bit."
Now users drive the robot around the room once, allowing it to scan the environment and create a digital map.
Operators are able to map out the route customising the direction and speed, before leaving the room for the 10-15 minute clean.
The Sterilight Robot aims to prevent and reduce the spread of infectious diseases and viruses by using powerful UV rays that break down the DNA-structure.
"The thing is humans can inadvertently miss certain areas or not expose them long enough," explains Mr Oualnan
"This technology completely rids itself of that.
"Similar technology was used against SARS a decade ago and was used in hospitals.
"We built on that to deal with coronavirus."
Makers claims the robot cleaners kills 99.9 per cent of bacteria.
