*Robots that can efficiently disinfect hospitals using UV light could slow coronavirus infections* *UVD Robots is a Danish company making robots that are able to disinfect patient rooms and operating theaters in hospitals. They’re able to disinfect pretty much anything you point them at—each robot is a mobile array of powerful short wavelength ultraviolet-C (UVC) lights that emit enough energy to literally shred the DNA or RNA of any microorganisms that have the misfortune of being exposed to them.* Well that sounds great. Western ingenuity and research being applied in a sensible way. The article continues: *The company’s robots have been operating in China for the past two or three weeks, and UVD Robots CEO Per Juul Nielsen says they are sending more to China as fast as they can. “The initial volume is in the hundreds of robots; the first ones went to Wuhan where the situation is the most severe,” Nielsen told IEEE Spectrum. “We’re shipping every week—they’re going air freight into China because they’re so desperately needed.” The goal is to supply the robots to over 2,000 hospitals and medical facilities in China.* Huh?? Why are these robots going to China? Their case load is stable, so the Chinese state says. No need then for these things. This is a private company, so they're following the money. The Chinese pay the $80K to $100K per unit, and so they ship. For now, at least. Give the Chinese a little while, and these robots will be reverse-engineered, broken down to their constituent atoms, and then reassembled, replicated and mass-produced in some factory in Shenzen. Companies need learn the hard way, it seems.