US 12,105,536 B2
Autonomous, mobile robotic apparatus for applying disinfection to an interior area
Alyssa Pierson, Somerville, MA (US); Saman Amarasinghe, Weston, MA (US); Daniela Rus, Weston, MA (US); Marcio Macedo, Cambridge, MA (US); and Youssef Saleh, Arlington, MA (US)
Assigned to AVA ROBOTICS INC., Cambridge, MA (US)
Filed by AVA ROBOTICS INC., Cambridge, MA (US)
Filed on Nov. 6, 2021, as Appl. No. 17/520,650.
Claims priority of provisional application 63/110,784, filed on Nov. 6, 2020.
Prior Publication US 2022/0143249 A1, May 12, 2022
Int. Cl. G05D 1/65 (2024.01); A61L 2/10 (2006.01); A61L 2/24 (2006.01); B25J 15/00 (2006.01); G01C 21/00 (2006.01); G01C 21/34 (2006.01); G05D 1/00 (2006.01); G05D 1/246 (2024.01); G05D 1/648 (2024.01); G05D 1/689 (2024.01); B25J 5/00 (2006.01)
CPC G05D 1/689 (2024.01) [A61L 2/10 (2013.01); A61L 2/24 (2013.01); B25J 15/0019 (2013.01); G01C 21/343 (2013.01); G01C 21/383 (2020.08); G05D 1/0094 (2013.01); G05D 1/0219 (2013.01); G05D 1/0223 (2013.01); G05D 1/0274 (2013.01); G05D 1/246 (2024.01); G05D 1/648 (2024.01); G05D 1/65 (2024.01); A61L 2202/11 (2013.01); A61L 2202/14 (2013.01); A61L 2202/16 (2013.01); B25J 5/007 (2013.01)] 20 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. An autonomous, mobile robotic (AMR) device configured to disinfect an interior space, comprising:
an AMR device body element that is rotatably connected to an AMR device base element;
a drive system associated with the AMR device base element;
a sensor system associated with the AMR device body element;
one or more UVC radiation sources connected to the AMR device body; and
a computational device comprising a path planning and navigation module that operates to:
use information collected from the sensor system to generate a map of the interior space, and to identify a location of one or more areas in the interior space for disinfection;
generate a heatmap as a function of the map of the interior space and the location of the one or more areas for disinfection using an estimating function to identify an optimal path for the AMR device to follow through the interior space in order to disinfect each of the one or more areas;
control the AMR device drive system to move the AMR device along the identified optimal disinfection path; and
use the location of each of the one or more areas to be disinfected to control the AMR device body element to rotate such that the UVC radiation is directed towards the locations of each of the one or more areas to be disinfected while the AMR device traverses the identified optimal path, wherein a traversal speed of the AMR device is determined as a function of a disinfection dosage assigned to a weighted edge between two nodes the weighted edge traverses along the identified optimal disinfection path using the path planning and navigation module.