Studying the effect of a disinfection robot using UVC lights, on fungi and microbes in the hospital environment

Abstract

The high prevalence rate of covid-19 is the most prominent feature making this deadly virus known in the world. One of the efficient ways to bridle this spread is disinfecting furniture in public places. Since there are demerits in utilizing chemical sanitizers, like imperfect disinfection processes, developed countries have turned to use modern cleaning methods. In this paper, the design, manufacturing, and experimental test of a UVC <sup xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">1</sup> multipurpose robot are presented. Containing 8 UVC lights, the portable system is capable of disinfecting a whole sphere around its working area. Consider the Ozone gas produced by the lights, this robot can sanitize covered places that UVC rays cannot reach. As UVC rays are dangerous, this system is remotely controllable in a range of two km. An atmega128 microcontroller is utilized to navigate the robot and send the operator’s commands to the system. Corona group viruses like SARS and Ebola besides E. coli bacteria have been studied during an experiment. 39 sample points of a surgery room in a hospital were disinfected by three types of mentioned microbes. Cultivating the microorganisms before and after a 20 minutes UVC disinfection process, almost 80% of the microbes were deactivated.