Design and Map-based Teleoperation of a Robot for Disinfection of COVID-19 in Complex Indoor Environments

This paper presents the design and map-based teleoperation of a robot with ultraviolet-C (UVC) lamps that disinfects the COVID-19 virus in complex indoor environments. To disinfect a wide range of surfaces, the robot has an arm with six degrees-of-freedom in addition to a wheeled platform. The wheeled platform attaches tube lamps on each side and underneath in the orientation perpendicular to the moving direction, and the robot arm has a spot UVC lamp at its end-effector. A method for projecting surface dosage using light properties is proposed and validated using the sensor measurements from the robotic system. A technique for creating a disinfection map is presented to prove surface disinfection of the environment in three-dimensional space. The developed robot was tested in an indoor environment with typical structures. Experimental results demonstrate accurate disinfection map creation.

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