Coverage Planning for UVC Irradiation: Robot Surface Disinfection Based on Swarm Intelligence Algorithm

Ultraviolet (UV) radiation has been widely utilized as a disinfection strategy to effectively eliminate various pathogens. The disinfection task achieves complete coverage of object surfaces by planning the motion trajectory of autonomous mobile robots and the UVC irradiation strategy. This introduces an additional layer of complexity to path planning, as every point on the surface of the object must receive a certain dose of irradiation. Nevertheless, the considerable dosage required for virus inactivation often leads to substantial energy consumption and dose redundancy in disinfection tasks, presenting challenges for the implementation of robots in large-scale environments. Optimizing energy consumption of light sources has become a primary concern in disinfection planning, particularly in large-scale settings. Addressing the inefficiencies associated with dosage redundancy, this study proposes a dose coverage planning framework, utilizing MOPSO to solve the multi-objective optimization model for planning UVC dose coverage. Diverging from conventional path planning methodologies, our approach prioritizes the intrinsic characteristics of dose accumulation, integrating a UVC light efficiency factor to mitigate dose redundancy with the aim of reducing energy expenditure and enhancing the efficiency of robotic disinfection. Empirical trials conducted with autonomous disinfecting robots in real-world settings have corroborated the efficacy of this model in deactivating viruses.