Pierson, AlyssaRomanishin, John W.Hansen, HunterYañez, Leonardo ZamoraRus, Daniela2022-01-182022-01-182021-09-27A. 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/iros51168.2021.9636260https://hdl.handle.net/2144/43624This 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.en-USAdaptation modelsRadiation effectsPathogensPandemicsAtmospheric modelingPath planningCoronavirusesSARS-CoV-2Conference materials10.1109/iros51168.2021.9636260698786