‘Coronavirus-Killing Robot’ At Key West Airport Named R2Key2

FLORIDA KEYS — Monroe County’s new “coronavirus-killing robot” at the Key West International Airport now has a new name, Michelle Coldiron, Florida Keys mayor, said in a video shared to the Florida Keys Tourism Council’s social media pages Friday.

The 6-feet-tall COVID-fighting robot is now called R2Key2. The name was chosen by Coldiron, airport representatives and other Florida Keys officials from 12 randomly selected entries in a social media contest, the mayor said.

“Colorful new name decals” have been applied to the robot, she added.

“The name salutes fiction robots (and) the unit’s Keys location,” the tourism council tweeted Friday.

The winning name was submitted by Chelsea Atkins of North Carolina. Atkins won a Key West vacation, including JetBlue flight vouchers, accommodations at the Gates Key West and passes to various attractions in the area.

The robot launched at the airport in December and “has an ultraviolet light designed to remove 99.9 percent of harmless airborne and surface pathogens, including the novel coronavirus,” Coldiron said, adding, “R2Key2 can completely disinfect the airport in two-and-a-half hours every single evening.”