Swiss ‘tech company’ Tweaq’s smart self-disinfecting door handle, which it says ‘can potentially eradicate millions of pathogens per building’, will be available from July this year.
Tweaq announced the ‘self-cleaning’ aluminium door handle, Rise, in November 2020 and – it says – customers have been keenly registering their interest. Tweaq said: “The product is now available to purchase from July, whereas many of its competitors are still in development, making it the world’s first smart disinfecting door handle on the market.” Explaining how the handle functions, Tweaq added: “The user firstly engages with the door handle as they normally would, and once it is released the Tweaq Rise is activated, and the peristaltic pump brings the disinfectant liquid from the casing to the sponge inside the ring around the door handle. An internal system drives the outer aluminium ring backwards and forwards once along the surface, eliminating 99.9% of bacteria and viruses in under three seconds.”
Tweaq Rise is powered by an electric engine and lithium batteries, which allow over 1,000 uses per cartridge. Installation reportedly takes under 10 minutes; the handle can be used with standard doors with no modifications required. Cartridge replacement is also quick and simple. When the disinfectant liquid runs out, Internet of Things technology and a blue LED light on the casing notify the user harnessing IOT technology and blue LED on the casing. When this occurs, the user replaces it with a new cartridge, and sends the empty cartridge back to Tweaq. Tweaq then refills the cartridge and recharges the batteries before it is redistributed.
Tweaq Rise has been ‘contemporarily designed’, and is available in dark grey and black.