UV Robot Design Contest

We hope to bring together the best of the open source hardware and software community to bring cost effective solutions to our current challenges in making heavily used surfaces safer from exposure to biohazards.

Judging will be conducted by a panel of subject matter experts with technical background in robotics, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, software development, and sensor experts.

Background Information on UV Germicidal Irradiation of Viruses

Ultraviolet light destroys the genetic material in pathogens—DNA in bacteria and fungi, RNA in viruses—preventing them from reproducing. The primary function of the UV- robot will be to disinfect rooms using ultraviolet germicidal irradiation for use at various businesses and organizations in exclusive of any industry or setting outside the medical field.

Once the robot is manually energized by the operator, the system must activate the UV lamps/LEDs remotely. The system will operate only when the area being disinfected is fully vacated (no living beings are present) and will be interlocked by the motion safety feature if movement is detected. The robot will sanitize all surrounding surfaces, including the floor.

Example Meeting Room:

Example path of robot disinfecting a meeting room with a targeted kill dose at 6’After each area within a room is sanitized, the robot must be able to move to the next area. Distance/Vision sensors (i.e. camera, laser, IR LED, ultrasonic, etc.) must monitor the environment to prevent human exposure, robot collision, and damage. After the robot has finished sanitizing a room, it will notify the operator that the job is complete and then shut itself down.

The ability to monitor, measure, and track individual performance of each sanitation will need to be available for historical tracking.

Ability to identify doors, handles and other high touch surfaces for preferential sanitation is desired in order to improve efficiency and effectiveness of this sanitation solution.

Example Bathroom:

Example Robot:

Reference Articles

• "Inactivation of Viruses on Surfaces by Ultraviolet Germicidal Irradiation" Written by Chun-Chieh Tseng & Chih-Shan Li; To cite this article: Chun-Chieh Tseng & Chih-Shan Li (2007) Inactivation of Viruses on Surfaces by Ultraviolet Germicidal Irradiation, Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene, 4:6, 400-405, DOI: 10.1080/15459620701329012
• CDC's Decontamination and Reuse of Filtering Facepiece Respirators
• How we know disinfectants should kill the COVID-19 coronavirus
• Virex® II 256 One-Step Disinfectant Cleaner and Deodorant; Quat Based Disinfectant
• EPA-approved list of products that can safely be used to fight viruses
• NYT article "They Clean the Buildings Workers Are Fleeing. But Who’s Protecting Them?"
• 2020 COVID-19 Coronavirus Ultraviolet Susceptibility Technical Report

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