INDIANAPOLIS — Jason and Diana Brugh are a married couple who have been together for more than 20 years. They have four kids, three dogs and a few robots.
"If I can dream it, he can build it," Diana proudly said of her husband Jason.
These two Purdue grads are also co-founders of AutoBio Reduction, a company that has come up with the UV Ninja, a robot that can disinfect an office, school, gym, grocery store, concert hall or any space using the same proven ultraviolet technologies found in hospitals to silently and automatically reduce biological hazards in public spaces.
"It has a light that is UVC light and UVC light has been used for many years to disinfect all kinds of spaces," Diana said. "I used it in the lab, after I graduated from college. So it is a technology that has been around for a very long time."
The UV Ninja uses no chemicals, it’s 100 percent electric, and it's fully automatic.
"The UV light itself is a germicidal light," Jason said. "What it does is it works on a cellular level that actually destroys the DNA of bacteria and viruses so they can't replicate anymore. As the light hits all of these surfaces, it starts to kill these bacteria and viruses so they can't reproduce and they can't harm anyone anymore. It really does a unique job of disinfecting spaces where really no other technology can do that."
The UV Ninja also reduces human exposure to dangerous viruses, pathogens, mold and other biological hazards. On a schedule, on-demand, or from the cloud, a UV Ninja has the goal of creating a safer environment for Hoosiers.
"In the world that we live in, we're dealing with COVID, but it's not the first issue we've had ever and it's not the last," Diana said. "So we're excited that this is really a long-term solution."
Jason and Diana came up with the UV Ninja very quickly, starting the process in May as a response to the coronavirus pandemic.
"We've got about 40 to 45 customers that we're working with right now to start deploying these in the near future," Jason said.
Jason and Diana are also the proud parents to four beautiful kids. They know how to manage work and family during the COVID-19 crisis, while coming up with technology to combat it.
"One thing that we try to do every night is we focus on family dinner," Jason said. "Our kids know that, even though one's in high school, and he sometimes fights it. He knows that dinnertime is family time."