Development of an Autonomous Differential Mobile Robot for Disinfection with a Hybrid Disinfection System

After the pandemic generated by the COVID-19 virus, there was a constant need to disinfect different spaces where people pass through in order to reduce the probability of contagion of various pathogens. In addition, it became necessary to create autonomous robots capable of disinfecting to prevent cleaning personnel from coming into contact with viruses or bacteria. During the last few years, mostly stationary systems have been used for the disinfection of spaces, such as UV-C radiation lamps, ozone and disinfectant chemicals. For these needs, an autonomous mobile robot equipped with a hybrid disinfection system consisting of a UV-C radiation disinfection module and an aerosol disinfection module was developed. The robot has the ability to detect the presence of people and electronic equipment to activate or deactivate the disinfection systems to ensure the disinfection of all areas while also avoiding the exposure of people to UV-C rays and electronic equipment to liquid substances. To assess the effectiveness of this system, tests were carried out on cultures of molds, yeasts and bacteria on the surface and in the environment of a corridor with a large influx of people, resulting in a reduction of microorganisms by 86% on average in the environment, and 96% on average for the surfaces.