CHANGSHA, April 2 (Xinhua) -- The Xiangya Hospital of Central South University in central China's Hunan Province has introduced two intelligent robots to disinfect the outpatient hall amid the novel coronavirus epidemic.

The use of the robots can greatly reduce the workload of the hospital staff and reduce the risk of cross-infection of the epidemic, said Meng Sha, deputy director of the logistics distribution center of the hospital.

The robots use three types of disinfection methods, including ultraviolet rays, ultra-dry fog hydrogen peroxide and plasma air filtration. The auto-navigation robots can be remotely controlled.

In the evening, after all the medical staff and patients leave, the robots will start patrolling the hospital according to the preset route, using nine ultraviolet lamps for disinfection.

In the daytime, the robots use the other two ways of disinfection that can be done while there are people around.

"The robots have relieved the pressure of our work. After completing the work, they find their ways to the charging pile to charge automatically," said Huang Weiping, head nurse of the outpatient department.