A Robotic Sidekick to the Superheroes Fighting COVID-19

Robots can be very useful in disinfecting surfaces with COVID-19, which can be a dangerous task for humans. At the USC Viterbi Center for Advanced Manufacturing, we have developed ADAMMS, a robot to do machine tending tasks. We are modifying this robot to perform disinfection tasks in public spaces such as offices, labs, schools, hotels, and dorms. We are calling this ADAMMS-UV.

ADAMMS-UV is a semi-autonomous mobile manipulator that uses UV light wand mounted on a robot arm to reach spaces that cannot be treated by UV source mounted on the mobile base. It can use the gripper to open drawers, closets and manipulate objects to perform a detailed sanitization on hard to reach surfaces. ADAMMS-UV is controlled by a remote operator located far away from the risk zone.

UV light is a proven disinfectant. Coronavirus on a surface can be killed when exposed to UV light of appropriate intensity for a sufficient amount of time. A robot can hold a UV wand over a surface and move it the right speed. The robot can do this task consistently without making any mistake. This task will be physically taxing and risky for humans.

People are already using mobile robots with a UV column to perform disinfection. Every surface in the line of sight can be treated using this method. However, most human-inhabited spaces include occluded surfaces. UV light from the column won’t reach such surfaces. For example, consider a keyboard on the desk, or a coffee mug inside a drawer. We need to manipulate such objects before we can sanitize them.

We have used ROS to integrate the mobile base and the manipulator arm along with multiple sensors. The operator first builds a 3D map of the surface being disinfected using a depth camera on the robotic arm. He or she can then choose an area to sanitize or an object to move. We can also have a large UV light on the mobile base that can be used for disinfecting already exposed surfaces.

The operator has access to multiple cameras mounted on the mobile manipulator which provides situational awareness. The operator teleoperates the robot using these cameras, and brings it near the target surface. For moving the manipulator, the operator makes only the high-level decisions like which area to sanitize, what object to move, and the motion planning for the manipulator is done by our system.

Using ADAMMS-UV, we can manipulate most of the objects and disinfect them. The semi-autonomous operation of the robot significantly reduces the workload on the operator and each operator can operate multiple such robots to sanitize a large area. We believe that robots like ADAMMS-UV can be really helpful to win the fight against COVID-19.

We can use ADAMMS-UV to perform dangerous tasks while the operator sits at a safe location. We believe that robots like ADAMMS-UV can really help in deep disinfection of public spaces at such dire times while limiting exposure of the coronavirus to the humans.

Contributors:
Hyojeong Kim : Master's Student
Shantanu Thakar : PhD Student
Pradeep Rajendran : Postdoc
Sarah Al-Hussaini : PhD Student
Rishi Malhan : PhD Student
Rex Joseph : Master's Student
Omey Manyar : Master's Student
Alec Kanyuck : Master's Student
Brual C. Shah : Research Scientist
Ariyan M. Kabir : Postdoc

Prof. Satyandra K. Gupta
USC Viterbi, Center for Advanced Manufacturing

Jeremy A. Marvel
National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)

Narration
Alec Kanyuck

Acknowledgement & Disclaimer:
The development of ADAMMS was funded by a grant from the National Institute of Standards and Technology. Commercial equipment and materials are identified in order to adequately specify certain procedures. In no case does such identification imply recommendation or endorsement by the University of Southern California or the National Institute of Standards and Technology, nor does it imply that the materials or equipment identified are necessarily the best available for the purpose.

Music:
Song Title: Upbeat and Inspiring Corporate
Licensor: MorningLightMusic, Matthew John Torres
Invoice Number: 2004-01217
   • Uplifting and Inspiring Background Music F...  

We thank Amy Blumenthal for loaning us a UV-sanitizer Wand
We thank Prof. Andrea Armani for educating us on UV-based disinfection and sanitization.