London-designed game-changing technology in the fight against COVID-19 going global

London-made virus detector going worldwide The BioCloud wall unit, which can detect the presence of COVID-19 in the air, is getting global distribution. CTV's Bryan Bicknell has more.

London, Ont. — A London-designed piece of new technology could become the next game-changer in the global fight against COVID-19.

Kontrol Energy Corporation has announced that its SARS/COVID-19 detector is about to be distributed to customers around the world.

The BioCloud, made in the form of a wall unit, is described in a news release as a “real-time analyzer designed to detect airborne viruses, including SARS-COVID-2, by continuously sampling air quality and triggering a silent, cloud-based alert to facility managers.”

It’s designed to be used in indoor settings where people gather or come and go, such as airports and train stations, long term care homes, classrooms, etc.

Kontrol Energy Vice President Gary Saunders says the company, with offices in London and Vaughn, Ontario, is the only one in the world with such a product in development.

“It’s really designed to make a safe space. So, this isn’t a vaccine. But it’s a tool to be used in conjunction with all the work we’re already doing like individual testing, the vaccine, upgrades to HVAC systems. This is just one more tool to validate that the virus is not in the air. Very similar to what we already have in our houses, like co detectors and smoke detectors.”

The company says it now has distribution agreements in place that will see units shipped to locations in North America, as well as New Zealand and Australia.

London based tech expert Carmi Levy, of Info-Tech Research Group, calls the BioCloud the right technology at the right time.

“Technologies like this are going to be crucial to allowing us to maintain some semblance of public activity without exposing ourselves to undo risk. You know the added bonus here is that it is a completely made-in-London solution.”

The units are now being manufactured at London’s OES, which is known for making electronic scoreboards and other electronic equipment.

OES CEO, Jeff Stewart says a number of employees had been laid off due to the COVID-19 downturn, but as a result of the contract with Kontrol Energy, they’ve been able to bring people back.

“We’ve been able to actually call back some of those people to help out with the engineering and pre-production of this unit, and certainly as we ramp up and produce the forecast that the company is talking about, we’ll certainly not only be able to call back everybody, but many more.”

The first BioCloud units are expected to be delivered and installed before Christmas.