Development of an Advanced Robotic System with Line Tracking and Sanitization in Healthcare Industry

COVID-19 is highly transmittable, especially for frontline healthcare workers. Far-UVC light at 222 nm wavelength effectively inactivates the virus and is safe for human skin and eyes. To reduce the contact between healthcare workers and infected patients while sanitizing the area, this work introduces UVood, an advanced robotic system with automated line tracking and sanitizer to enhance the safety of frontline healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Utilizing far-UVC light, the system achieves effective sanitization without harm to humans. Controlled by an Arduino Mega microcontroller and incorporating infrared (IR) and passive infrared (PIR) sensors, UVood allows precise navigation and continuous disinfection. This prototype also integrates a touchscreen as a user interface for user control. Through the functionality verification, the developed proof-of-concept prototype has successfully demonstrated its great potential in healthcare automation and infection prevention.