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A semi-autonomous robot that is rapidly disinfecting large surfaces for public trials is being prepared to support Singapore’s fight against COVID-19.
Developed by researchers at Nanyang University of Technology, Singapore (NTU Singapore), the Extreme Disinfection roBOT (XDBOT) can be controlled wirelessly via a laptop or tablet, eliminating the need for cleaners to be in contact with The surfaces.
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Composed of a semi-autonomous control unit with motorized wheels, XDBOT has a 6-axis robotic arm that can mimic human movement to reach uncomfortable places, such as under tables and beds, as well as door knobs, tables and light switches .
Instead of a conventional pressure spray nozzle, it uses an electrostatic charged nozzle to ensure greater and greater spread of the disinfectant, behind and on hidden surfaces.
Unlike typical nozzles, the XDBOT nozzle discharges chemicals with a positive electrical charge. These disinfectants will be attracted to all negatively charged surfaces. Surfaces already covered with the disinfectant will repel the spray, making this method very efficient.
Professor Chen I-Ming, project leader and roboticist at the NTU Robotics Research Center, said the XDBOT was conceived when COVID19 cases began to increase worldwide in mid-February and disinfection efforts intensified in Changi airport, hotels and local hospitals..
“To stop the transmission of a virus means that we need a way to quickly disinfect surfaces, which is repetitive and labor-intensive activity,” Professor Chen said in a statement. “Using our new remote robot, a human operator can precisely control the disinfection process, increasing the cleaned surface area up to four times, with zero contact with surfaces.”
The XDBot was developed by NTU scientists working with Transforma Robotics and two other products derived from NTU, Hand Plus Robotics and Maju Robotics, along with industry partners Asia Center of Technologies (ACOT) and Tungray Singapore Pte Ltd.
Developed and built at the NTU Smart Campus, the robot went from a theoretical concept to an operational prototype in two months.
According to NTU, XDBOT can navigate semi-autonomously in any environment using LIDAR (Light and Range Detection) and HD cameras, while its arm is controlled by a human operator.
Currently, the operator can control the robot from up to 30m using a laptop / tablet, which can be increased to 50m or more with more antennas installed on XDBOT.
The robot has an 8.5l tank that can carry a variety of disinfectants appropriate for different environments, and can operate for four hours continuously on a rechargeable battery and is estimated to be able to disinfect a surface area of up to four times that of Manual Cleaning.
Recharging the battery currently takes eight hours, but the researchers said this can be further improved by adopting fast charge technology.
The team is said to be in talks with various healthcare institutions and hopes to further test the prototype in more public areas and local public hospitals.
If the tests are successful and with sufficient commercial demand, the three spin-offs aim to develop a production-ready version of the XDBOT and expand production.
