Technology
Drone disinfection will clean the Atlanta stadium between events
Atlanta's Mercedes-Benz Stadium, home to Atlanta Falcons and Atlanta United FC, will use a pair of drones to clean fans' seats and other areas during upcoming events. The purpose-built D1 disinfecting drones are supported by Lucid Drone Technologies and electrostatic spray nozzles are used to spread non-toxic disinfecting chemicals. The drones will debut after the Falcons' next October 11th home game against the Carolina Panthers.
The stadium states that it is the first professional sports stadium to use drone cleaning, and reports that it cuts the time it takes to clean up the stadium's seating area by 95 per cent, allowing staff to work elsewhere. Drones can also clean the handrails and glass partitions of the stadium. Two drones will be used, and a third will be used as a backup, says ESPN.
As the world has expected how to re-open public spaces after a pandemic, remote cleaning solutions like these have emerged as a high-profile way to disinfect wide areas effectively, while keeping cleaners socially distanced from each other. Pittsburgh Airport unveiled a UV-cleaning robot in May, and disinfecting robots were also deployed in a containment zone in Chennai , India.
However, the excessive emphasis on disinfecting surfaces has been criticized as a "hygiene theater" by some experts in the recent Atlantic study. That's because while the CDC says surface transmission is "possible," it is not thought to be the main way the virus spreads. Instead, airborne transmission is thought to be a much bigger issue, making social distance and mask-wearing more important policies to minimize transmission.
The disinfection areas are not thought to be specifically dangerous, but the hygiene theater risks creating a false sense of protection, the Atlantic notes. In certain instances, it can also take attention away from other fields.
Fortunately, the disinfecting drones aren't going to be the only sanitation scheme in effect at the 71,000-seater Mercedes-Benz Stadium. CNN notes that capacity will be restricted, although it says it's not clear how many fans will be allowed to attend, and there will also be 600 hand sanitizing dispensers throughout the house. Officials at Atlanta Falcons' parent company AMBSE have previously suggested that face coverings would be mandatory if fans return to games this year, and that the stadium would impose a six-foot distancing rule between seated classes, reports AJC.
