Rewrite Transforming hospital sanitation: autonomous robots for wiping and UV-C disinfection this news headline for the science magazine post

Professor Keehoon Kim and Ph.D. candidate Jaewon Byun from the Department of Mechanical Engineering at POSTECH (Pohang University of Science and Technology) have developed an “Intelligent Autonomous Wiping and UV-C Disinfection Robot” capable of automating hospital disinfection processes. This research was conducted in collaboration with Korea Institute of Science and Technology (Sangrok Oh, Director of Research Division, and Dr. Jinwoo Jung), the Korea Institute of Robot and Convergence (Goobong Chung, Vice President, and Dr. Youngho Choi), Elphoton Co., Ltd. (Eunhyun Park, CEO, and Dr. Kyungmin Kim), and the Infection Control Team at Pohang St. Mary’s Hospital (Jaemyung Kang and Eunjung Kim).

The COVID-19 pandemic has underscored the critical importance of thorough disinfection, particularly within hospital environments. Given the increased awareness of the importance of disinfection, concerns surrounding labor shortages due to physical fatigue and risk of exposure to pathogens have been raised. Moreover, individuals’ compliance with manually conducted disinfection tasks tends to vary, and human performance is inconsistent. Furthermore, existing technologies, such as UV-C robots and hydrogen peroxide vapor systems, have inherent limitations in completely removing contaminants hidden in obscured or hard-to-reach areas.

To address these challenges, the research team developed an autonomous robot capable of both navigating hospital environments and performing disinfection tasks. A key feature of the robot is its dual disinfection system: first, it utilizes a robotic manipulator to physically wipe surfaces and remove contaminants; second, it employs UV-C irradiation to disinfect hard-to-reach corners and narrow spaces.

The robot’s performance was validated through real-world testing at Pohang St. Mary’s Hospital. The team conducted bacterial culture experiments to confirm the effectiveness of disinfection and carried out repeated autonomous operations to verify its long-term usability in clinical settings.

One of the robot’s most significant advantages is its ability to automate time-consuming and repetitive disinfection tasks, enabling healthcare professionals to devote more attention to patient care. Additionally, unlike variability in human performance, the system can perform disinfection with consistent precision, significantly reducing the risk of infection within the hospital. Precision control algorithms minimize operational failures, while the integration of a self-sanitizing station and wireless charging system ensures sustained disinfection operations.

Professor Keehoon Kim emphasized, “Although COVID-19 has transitioned into an endemic phase, it remains essential to prepare for future pandemics. We will continue advancing this disinfection robot technology beyond hospitals to public facilities, various social infrastructures, and everyday environments to further reduce infection risks.”

This work was supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea(NRF) grant funded by the Korea government(MSIT) (Project Director: Dr. Sang-Rok Oh, Korea Institute of Science and Technology).