IIT develops device to sanitize grocery, bank notes and delivery packages

Roper : The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) has developed a trunk shaped device fitted with ultraviolet germicidal irradiation technology, which they advise to be placed at the entry and all items brought from outside including grocery and currency notes be put in it to sanitise them and aid the fight against COVID-19.

According to the team at IIT Ropar, the trunk when commercialised, can be available at less than Rs 500. It can take up to 30 minutes to sanitize the items and then another 10 minutes to cool down before the items can be taken out from it.

"The fight against corona pandemic, will not end just with social distancing and not stepping out. In coming days and weeks, it will be extremely important to be cautious with everything possible. We have developed a device which looks like any trunk in our home, and we recommend it be placed at doorsteps or may be somewhere closer to the entry.

"Right now there are many who wash vegetables with warm water before using but the same cannot be done with currency notes or wallets. So we have developed a common sanitising solution for everything," Naresh Rakha, Senior Scientific Officer at IIT Ropar, told news agency PTI.

According to the team of developers, all items which are being brought from the outside including currency notes, vegetables, milk packets, any items ordered through delivery, wrist watch, wallets, mobile phones or any documents be placed in the trunk before being used.

"The device is based on ultraviolet germicidal irradiation technology used in water purifiers. We strongly advise not to look directly at the light inside the trunk as it can be harmful," Mr Rakha said.