Tottenham Hotspur Stadium has become the first venue in the world to implement new robot cleaning technology in a bid to keep supporters safe.
For the opening game of the Premier League season against Manchester City on 15 August, which the north London club won 1-0, the club utilised a fleet of Eco Bot 75s from ICE Co-Botics to clean and disinfect the stadium.
Capacity crowds have now returned to Premier League venues as the country navigates its way out of the Covid-19 pandemic, and the club said that this makes keeping stadia clean more important than ever.
Head of stadium operations at Tottenham, Paul May, said: “We are always looking for innovative ways to improve our cleaning standards – with a large team working around the clock to ensure our 62,850-seater stadium is ready for the safe return of fans.
“Co-Biotics allows us to enhance our staff performances, making the cleaning operation even more thorough and covering vaster areas in a shorter amount of time. As matches and events return to our stadium, it has never been more important to ensure we have a clean and safe environment for our fans.”
The robots also have a green element, with a filtering system that ensures 70% of its water usage is filtered and recycled, while maintaining its cleaning ability. The club said it has saved over 1,300 litres of water since introducing the Eco Bots 75s.
The Eco Bot 75 uses 23 sensors, two cameras and a 3D LiDar (light detection ranging) to clean up to 3,000sq m/h. To map out where the autonomous bots are required to clean, they can be manually driven to create the editable map. Then the equipment can be managed through a cloud-based platform, with reports sent via email and even as a text message.
Darren Marston, chairman of ICE Co-Botics, said: “We are delighted that Tottenham Hotspur share our long-standing belief and have the vision to invest in a meaningful fleet. The demand for Co-Botics is really gathering pace and we have a strong order book fuelled by the heightened priorities for infection control at an appropriate distance.
“Tottenham Hotspur are certainly on the front of the curve, demonstrated by integrating these machines into the daily cleaning operations of such an iconic stadium.”
Image: Tim Bechervaise on Unsplash
