Mobile UV Disinfection Robot Presence Detection for Safe Operation
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Solution Overview
Problem
It is challenging for mobile robots used for disinfection to determine the presence of humans or animals in an area being disinfected, especially when emitting ultraviolet (UV) light, as it can be harmful and requires safe operation to prevent harm to both humans and animals.
Innovation Solution
Equipping the mobile robot with sensors such as image, thermal, and geometric sensors to detect human and animal presence, which allows the robot to stop movement and UV light emission when a human or animal is detected, ensuring safety and accurate detection over a predetermined period.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the mobile robot emits UV light to disinfect the area, then the disinfection effectiveness is improved, but the risk of harm to humans and animals increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses sensors to continuously monitor the area for presence of humans or animals, and based on this feedback, dynamically adjusts the UV light emission and robot movement. When presence is detected, the system stops UV emission and movement, creating a closed-loop control system that balances disinfection effectiveness with safety.
Solution Approach 2:
Sensors act as intermediaries between the robot's UV light source and the environment, detecting the presence of humans or animals and transmitting this information to the control system to mediate whether UV emission should continue, thereby preventing direct harm while maintaining disinfection capability.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If the robot continuously monitors for human and animal presence using sensors, then the safety is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The sensor system is designed to perform multiple functions: detecting human presence, detecting animal presence, and providing continuous monitoring feedback. By making the sensor system multi-functional, the patent reduces the need for separate specialized sensors for each detection task, thereby limiting the increase in device complexity while maintaining comprehensive safety monitoring.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If the robot stops movement and UV light emission when presence is detected, then the safety is improved, but the disinfection productivity decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The robot operates in periodic cycles of movement and UV emission interrupted by detection-based pauses. When no presence is detected, the robot continues its disinfection cycle; when presence is detected, it pauses temporarily, then resumes when the area is clear again. This periodic action maintains productivity while ensuring safety.
Solution Approach 2:
The robot quickly identifies and skips over areas where presence is detected, pausing only momentarily to stop UV emission and movement, then rapidly resumes disinfection in safe areas. This minimizes the time lost to safety pauses while still preventing harm to humans and animals.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution effectively prevents harm to humans and animals by safely stopping UV light emission and movement when presence is detected, allowing for accurate determination and safe disinfection operations.
Implementation Method 1
emitting, using a light source of the mobile robot, ultraviolet (UV) light to disinfect at least a portion of the area
Implementation Method 2
determining, using the at least one sensor, whether there is at least one of human and/or animal identification, motion, heat, and/or sound within the area
Data Source
AI summary
Implementations of the disclosed subject matter provide a method of moving a mobile robot within an area. The movement of the mobile robot and the emission of ultraviolet (UV) light may be stopped when a human and/or animal is determined to be within the area. Using at least one sensor, the method may be determine whether there is at least one of human identification, animal identification, motion, heat, and/or sound within the area for a predetermined period of time. When there is no human identification, animal identification, motion, heat, and/or sound within the predetermined period of time, UV light may be emitted and the drive system may be controlled to move the mobile robot within the area. When there is at least one of human identification, motion, heat, and/or sound within the predetermined period of time, a light source may be controlled to prohibit the emission of UV light.