Autonomous Drone Swarm for Surface Pathogen Detection and Remediation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional methods for controlling the spread of viruses and contagions rely heavily on human testing, social distancing, and quarantines, which are ineffective in detecting and mitigating environmental contamination, leading to economic and social disruptions.
Innovation Solution
Automated contagion detection and remediation (ACDR) systems using swarms of drones equipped with sensors and remediation components to detect and classify pathogens on surfaces, and trigger disinfection or cordon off infected areas, while logging data for tracking and protocol updates.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of time
If conventional human testing and tracking protocols are used to detect contagions, then detection can occur, but by the time detection happens the contagion has already spread rapidly to many people and locations
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by deploying drones to continuously monitor and detect pathogens on surfaces and in environments before human infection occurs. The system proactively searches for contagion sources in advance, enabling detection during the incubation period rather than waiting for symptoms to appear, thus preventing rapid spread before containment can begin
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses drones as intermediary devices between the environment and human detectors. These autonomous vehicles equiped with sensors act as mediators that can safely approach and sample contaminated areas without exposing humans, transmitting detection data back to central systems for analysis and response coordination
2Reliability
If extreme over-application of social distancing and quarantine protocols is implemented, then contagion spread may be limited, but detrimental economic and social impacts occur
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by enabling targeted containment of specific contaminated locations rather than broad-area quarantines. Drones detect and map precise contamination zones, allowing authorities to isolate only affected areas while leaving unaffected regions open for normal activity, thus maintaining economic and social productivity in non-infected zones
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces mechanical human-based detection and monitoring systems with autonomous drone systems equipped with environmental sensors. This substitution enables continuous, automated surveillance of contamination levels without requiring human presence in risky areas, reducing the need for widespread social distancing while maintaining effective containment
3Productivity
If extreme under-application of containment protocols is implemented, then economic and social impacts are minimized, but the contagion continues to spread to increasing numbers of people and locations
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements feedback through continuous drone monitoring that tracks contamination levels in real-time and communicates this data to central authorities. The system provides ongoing information about contagion spread patterns, enabling dynamic adjustment of containment measures based on actual environmental conditions rather than static protocols, thus maintaining effective containment with minimal disruption
4Reliability
If swarms of drones with sensors and remediation components are deployed to detect and remediate contagions, then environmental contagion conditions can be effectively detected and remediated, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies segmentation by dividing the contagion response system into separate specialized drone types: detection drones equipped with environmental sensors for pathogen monitoring, and remediation drones equipped with disinfection capabilities. This segmentation allows each drone type to be optimized for its specific function while working under centralized coordination, managing overall system complexity through functional specialization
Data Source
AI summary
Techniques are provided for implementing automated contagion detection and remediation (ACDR) features to detect and remediate environmental contagion conditions. For example, ACDR techniques can be used to target contagion contamination on surfaces in a trafficked area, rather than focusing detecting and remediating human symptoms. ACDR systems can include swarms of specially configured drones under control of one or more centralized controllers to detect presence of one or more types of pathogens on surfaces and to classify detected contagion events. In some embodiments, upon such detection, the same or other specially configured drones can be triggered to remediate the detected condition by removing the pathogen by disinfecting surfaces, by cordoning off infected areas, and/or in other ways. Some embodiments can further log and aggregate data relating to detected contagion events to support tracking, remediation, enforcement, protocol updating, research, and/or other efforts.