Teleoperated Floor Disinfecting Robot

We have introduced a tele-operated robot to disinfect the floor. We used UV technology (UV sterilization technology) for disinfecting the floor.

What is ultraviolet? [1]

Ultraviolet light is part of the light spectrum, which is classified into three wavelength ranges:

• UV-C, from 100 nanometers (nm) to 280 nm
• UV-B, from 280 nm to 315 nm
• UV-A, from 315 nm to 400 nm

What is germicidal ultraviolet? [1]

UV-C light is germicidal – i.e., it deactivates the DNA of bacteria, virus and other pathogens and thus destroys their ability to multiply and cause disease. Specifically, UV-C light causes damage to the nucleic acid of microorganisms by forming covalent bonds between certain adjacent bases in the DNA. The formation of such bonds prevent the DNA from being unzipped for replication, and the organism is unable to reproduce. In fact, when the organism tries to replicate, it dies.

What are the beneficial uses of germicidal ultraviolet? [1]

Ultraviolet technology is a non-chemical approach to disinfection. In this method of disinfection, nothing is added which makes this process simple, inexpensive and requires very low maintenance. Ultraviolet purifiers utilize germicidal lamps that are designed and calculated to produce a certain dosage of ultraviolet (usually at least 16, 000 microwatt seconds per square centimeter but many units actually have a much higher dosage.) The principle of design is based on a product of time and intensity – you must have a certain amount of both for a successful design.

Here are just a few of the applications… [1]

Drinking Water

• under sink installs & water vending machines
• boats & recreational vehicles
• water wells & water cisterns
• swimming pool & hot tubs
• farms, ranches & trailer parks
• schools & hotels
• aquarium, hatcheries and nurseries
• ice making

Food Processing

• brewery & winery
• soft drinks, fruit drinks and juices
• bottling facilities
• dairy processing
• liquid sugars, sweeteners and edible oils
• water based lubricants
• pure wash water

Medical

• pharmaceutical production
• laboratories, hospitals and clinics
• maternity labor and delivery areas
• pathology labs, kidney dialysis
• animal husbandry

Industries

• cosmetics and electronic production
• pond & lake reclamation
• laundry water

How do ultraviolet purifiers work? [1]

Atlantic Ultraviolet Corporation’s purifier units contain one or more germicidal ultraviolet lamps. STER-L-RAY® Germicidal Lamps are shortwave, low pressure tubes that produce ultraviolet wavelengths lethal to microorganisms. Approximately 95% of the ultraviolet energy emitted from STER-L-RAY® germicidal lamps is at 254 nanometers, the region of germicidal effectiveness most destructive to bacteria, mold and virus. Therefore, the water or air that passes through the chamber is exposed to the germicidal uv light and the genetic material of the microorganism is deactivated, which preventing them from reproduction and rendering them harmless.

Description of the Robot

The floor disinfection robot is a tele-operated robot. It can be controlled from a remote station. The operator controls it through Wireless Network. The robot sends video feedback to the remote station. This response is used to control the robot smoothly.

Necessary things

• 4 gear Motor with wheel
• UV Sterilizer Germicidal Lamp LED
• PVC boards
• NodeMCU [microcontroller]
• Wires/jumper wires
• Old smart phone for video transmission
• Li-po battery
• Web-apps for Ground Station
• IP WEBCAM APPS (from Google Play)

Building procedure

We cut the PVC board according to the measurements. we attached all the pieces of pvc boards by using glue. After that, we installed four motors and connected all the wires with them.

Then we installed the UV LED under the robot. This UV LED is used to disinfect the floor. We have placed others components inside the robot such as (Motor Driver, Microcontroller, Mosfet Switch etc. We then connect all the components according to the circuit diagram.

Setup the IP camera (using Smart Phone) [4]

A quick search on Google Play throws up several webcam applications. IP Webcam is easily the best of the lot because it works through your browser, which gives it the cross-platform compatibility.

To set up a ip camera on Android, follow these steps.

1. Connect your computer and the phone to the same Wi-Fi network.

2. Install the IP Webcam app on your smartphone.

3. Close all other camera apps. Force close them from the app switcher before you proceed.

4. Launch the IP Webcam app. Scroll to the bottom and tap Start server.

5. The app will now fire up your phone's camera and display a URL. Our URL was http://172.32.15.110:8080.

6. Enter this URL in any browser on your computer and hit Enter.

7. In the browser, you'll see a drop down menu next to Video renderer. Select Browser.

8. Below that, you'll see Audio renderer. Select HTML wav.

Now you'll see a live video feed in your browser. You can also record this footage via the browser. To do this, just press the red Record button under the video. This saves the footage as an MP4.There will be a slight lag if you enable HTML wav audio in the browser. You can select the Flash option (doesn't work on all computers) or open the same URL in VLC Media Player.

9. To do this, first download and install VLC from this website. Then in VLC, go to Media > Network Stream and enter the URL from the app as seen in step 5.

Once the app is running, you don't need to keep your phone's screen on. It works even when the phone is locked, but the video feed is slightly smoother when the screen is on.

Circuit Diagram

Here are the connected pins diagram for the connection.

NodeMcu to L298N Motor Driver
    D3        Input4
    D4        Input3
    D5        Enable A
    D6        Enable B
    D7        Input2
    D8        Input1 

NodeMcu to MosFET
    VCC        VCC
    GND        GND
    D1         SIG

Setup the Arduino IDE for NodeMCU

Now connect a USB Cable with the NodeMCU and the PC and then I will Jump into the software section. First install Arduino IDE in your PC or Mac. Here I will discuss how all the things should be done with any OS you prefer.

• First Download the code from the link below. Now open Arduino and Go to File>New.
• Now a new window will appear. Next, Delete all the existing code and Paste the given code.

In the code, you will find Additional Board Manager URL now copy the URL and do the next step. For Different OS you have a different option.

• MAC: Go to Arduino > Preferences
• Windows: Fille > Preferences
• In the code, you will find Additional Board Manager URL now copy the URL and do the next step. For Different OS you have a different option.
  MAC: Go to Arduino > Preferences
  Windows: Fille > Preferences
• Now Paste it in the Additional Board Manager URL section and press Ok.
• Now go to Tools > Board > Boards Manager
• Search for ‘ESP8266‘ and install the latest version.
• After the installation Then go to Tools > Board and then select the ESP-12E Module. So, The Board is selected Now.
• Next, Select the Right COM Port.
• Then compile the Program First and then Upload to NodeMCU. After a few seconds, the code will be compiled and then Uploaded to NodeMCU Car.

Additional Board Manager URL: http://arduino.esp8266.com/stable/package_esp8266com_index.json

WEB apps for Ground Station

WE have developed a web apps. this web apps is used for controlling the robot from ground station. HTML, CSS and JavaScript are used to build this apps.

Demo

• Connect the Car with the battery. [power up the robot]
• Now open the webapps and you will be able to control the car with the app.

Reference

1. https://ultraviolet.com/what-is-germicidal-ultraviolet/

2. http://roboticsbangladesh.com/techReport/uv_lamp_tech.pdf

3. http://roboticsbangladesh.com/techReport/Wyckomar_UVTechnology.pdf

4. https://gadgets.ndtv.com/mobiles/features/how-to-use-your-phone-as-a-webcam-617643