Thoughts brought about by the COVID-19 epidemic: Companies are taking action to prevent in-car infections
Nio CEO Li Bin once said that cars will be people’s second living rooms.
This is also true. As family cars continue to become more popular, people spend more and more time in their cars, whether commuting to and from get off work or traveling during holidays. Recently, as the COVID-19 epidemic continues to spread, how to ensure that vehicle occupants have a healthy air environment at all times has become the focus of many companies.
A few days ago, Geely Group decided to launch the research and development of "all-round healthy cars" with virus prevention functions. According to Geely, the "all-round health car" is a product for ordinary consumers and is different from professional medical protective cars.
In order to achieve "all-round health" in the car, Geely Automobile will focus on breaking through in-car virus prevention based on its existing functions of isolating harmful substances in the external air and quickly and efficiently purifying the air in the car. Functions and technologies to effectively inhibit and reduce the harm of viruses to the human body. At the same time, the materials used in the car not only have high environmental protection and low emission, but also have the ability to inhibit bacteria or surface sterilization by adding antibacterial and antibacterial substances.
The research and development of "all-round healthy cars" means that Geely has given new content to the concept of "driver and passenger safety" and raised the concept of "car safety" to a new height. To this end, Geely will invest 370 million yuan in advance.
Coincidentally, as early as March 28 last year, there were reports that Jaguar Land Rover was researching an innovative ultraviolet technology (UV-C). The technology is widely used to disinfect water, filter air and disinfect surfaces, and has been used in the medical industry for more than 70 years to help stop the spread of colds and flu.
Jaguar Land Rover hopes to integrate UV-C into the car’s air conditioning system to prevent bacteria and harmful viruses (i.e. pathogens) from surviving in the car. According to Jaguar Land Rover Chief Medical Officer Dr. Steve Iley: "The average driver spends up to 300 hours behind the wheel every year, so it is clear that cars can be better utilized to implement preventive medical measures."
Interestingly, the ultraviolet technology used by Jaguar Land Rover is similar to an antibacterial device technology called "Wellness Pod" launched by Yanfeng Company in September last year.
Yanfeng Company introduced that the "Wellness? Pod" has a built-in ultraviolet divergence lens, which integrates an ultraviolet air disinfection system, a surface sterilization system and a variety of fragrance release systems. It uses ultraviolet rays to sterilize the interior of the car. Its fragrance diffusion system will keep the air inside the car fresh while the air and interior surfaces are disinfected.
It is understood that the number of bacteria on directly exposed surfaces can be reduced by 99.9% after ultraviolet sterilization, while the number of bacteria on indirect surfaces can also be reduced by 95%. At present, "Wellness Pod" has also specially designed a quick cleaning mode for luxury travel vehicles. After passengers get off the car, it cleans high-touch areas to prepare a clean car environment for the next passenger.
In recent years, the increasingly serious hazards of haze and occasional infectious disease crises have made people increasingly aware of the importance of environmental health. As technology continues to advance and consumer demand continues to escalate, I believe more and more companies will join the "anti-drug" army. No matter how rampant the virus is, it will eventually be extinguished.
This article comes from the author of Autohome Chejiahao and does not represent the views and positions of Autohome.