Robot Development and Path Planning for Indoor Ultraviolet Light Disinfection

TL;DR

This paper introduces an affordable indoor robot with a novel path planning algorithm that significantly improves UVC disinfection efficiency and coverage, addressing cost and effectiveness issues of existing systems.

Contribution

A new low-cost robotic platform with a unique algorithm for optimal UVC irradiation locations, enhancing efficiency and coverage over static methods.

Findings

Algorithm reduces disinfection time by ~30%

Coverage increases by 35% compared to static placement

Demonstrated effectiveness in simulations and prototype runs

Abstract

Regular irradiation of indoor environments with ultraviolet C (UVC) light has become a regular task for many indoor settings as a result of COVID-19, but current robotic systems attempting to automate it suffer from high costs and inefficient irradiation. In this paper, we propose a purpose-made inexpensive robotic platform with off-the-shelf components and standard navigation software that, with a novel algorithm for finding optimal irradiation locations, addresses both shortcomings to offer affordable and efficient solutions for UVC irradiation. We demonstrate in simulations the efficacy of the algorithm and show a prototypical run of the autonomous integrated robotic system in an indoor environment. In our sample instances, our proposed algorithm reduces the time needed by roughly 30\% while it increases the coverage by a factor of 35\% (when compared to the best possible placement of a static light).