Hong Kong inventor designs robots to fight Covid-19 with UV light

Dr Ng Tze-chuen has his two children in mind – both health care workers in Covid-19 wards – as he comes up with designs to destroy the virus

So far he has created concepts for robots that use UV light to disinfect hospitals, a surgical gown that addresses a serious health issue, and others

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Although he is a dentist by profession, Ng Tze-chuen’s real passion is creating solutions to real-life problems – and at the moment, that means inventions that use UV light to fight the current coronavirus pandemic. Photo: Xiaomei Chen

Published: 10:15am, 13 Jun 2020Updated: 5:48pm, 14 Jun 2020

When Hong Kong inventor Dr Ng Tze-chuen doesn’t have a project on the boil, he feels restless.

Although he is a dentist by profession, his real passion is coming up with innovative solutions to real life problems – whether that’s creating a toothbrush to revolutionise teeth cleaning or finding a way to pick up rocks on Mars. It’s just the way he’s wired.

“It’s what I do, I’m born like this,” says Ng, who sports the longish locks of a classic eccentric professor.

He designed a pair of planetary rock grippers, Holinser Forceps, and the Mars Rock Corer, which the Russian Space Agency and the European Space Agency have adopted. He also worked closely with a team on exploring the mystery of the Great Pyramid in Egypt. Now, he’s designed equipment to help destroy the coronavirus.

Ng is part of a team that designed a robotic rover used to explore a pyramid temple in Mexico. Photo: Courtesy of Ng Tze-chuen

As Ng watched the pandemic rapidly spread around the world, he was struck by how ineffective the medical protective equipment was. This concern struck very close to home – his son, a medical professional in Britain, and his daughter, at Ruttonjee Hospital in Hong Kong, are both working in Covid-19 wards.