Designing and deploying a mobile UVC disinfection robot
Files
Accepted manuscript
Date
2021-09-27
Authors
Pierson, Alyssa
Romanishin, John W.
Hansen, Hunter
YaƱez, Leonardo Zamora
Rus, Daniela
Version
Accepted manuscript
OA Version
Citation
A. Pierson, J.W. Romanishin, H. Hansen, L.Z. Yanez, D. Rus. 2021. "Designing and Deploying a Mobile UVC Disinfection Robot." 2021 IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS). 2021 IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS). 2021-09-27 - 2021-10-01. https://doi.org/10.1109/iros51168.2021.9636260
Abstract
This paper presents a mobile UVC disinfection robot designed to mitigate the threat of airborne and surface pathogens. Our system comprises a mobile robot base, a custom UVC lamp assembly, and algorithms for autonomous navigation and path planning. We present a model of UVC disinfection and dosage of UVC light delivered by the mobile robot. We also discuss challenges and prototyping decisions for rapid deployment of the robot during the COVID-19 pandemic. Experimental results summarize a long-term deployment at The Greater Boston Food Bank, where the robot delivers (nightly) UVC dosages of at least 10 mJ/cm 2 to a 4000 ft 2 area in under 30 minutes. These dosages are capable of neutralizing 99% of coronaviruses, including SARS-CoV-2, on surfaces and in airborne particles. Further simulations present how this mobile UVC disinfection robot may be extended to classic problems in robotic path planning and adaptive multi-robot coverage control.