Patent Description:
<CIT> concerns a robot cleaner having an ultraviolet light emitting diode.

Aspects of the invention are defined in the accompanying claims. According to a first aspect there is provided a method in accordance with claim <NUM>. Preferred optional features are defined in the dependent claims.

According to an implementation of the disclosed subject matter, a method may be provided that includes moving a mobile robot in a path within a predetermined area using a drive system of the mobile robot, and outputting ultraviolet (UV) light from a first light source onto a portion of at least one of a plurality of wheels of the drive system based on a first dosage level.

Additional features, advantages, and implementations of the disclosed subject matter may be set forth or apparent from consideration of the following detailed description, drawings, and claims. Moreover, it is to be understood that both the foregoing summary and the following detailed description are illustrative and are intended to provide further explanation without limiting the scope of the claims.

The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of the disclosed subject matter, are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification. The drawings also illustrate implementations of the disclosed subject matter and together with the detailed description serve to explain the principles of implementations of the disclosed subject matter. No attempt is made to show structural details in more detail than may be necessary for a fundamental understanding of the disclosed subject matter and various ways in which it may be practiced.

device mobile robot may be used to disinfect a predetermined area such as a room, a building, surfaces, air, objects, or the like in an environment using ultraviolet (UV) light from a light source. The mobile robot may also disinfect itself, such as its wheels and body, using UV radiation from light sources. Different dosages of UV light may be applied to the surfaces, air, objects, and to the mobile robot.

In some implementations, the mobile robot may autonomously enter a predetermined area, and may output UV light at a predetermined dosage level to disinfect the area. The mobile robot may have a map of the area stored in memory, may receive the map via a network interface, and/or may map the area using one or more sensors. The actuated mobile robot may receive a path via the network interface and/or determine a path to move within the area and to disinfect the area by outputting UV light from the light source. The path may be selected and/or determined so as to minimize the amount of time to apply the dosage level of UV light and disinfect the area. The mobile robot may disinfect its wheels as the mobile robot moves along the path, and/or when the mobile robot is stationary. The mobile robot may disinfect its body with a UV light source to prevent spreading contaminants to different areas.

Progress of applying the dosage level of UV light may be monitored by generating an exposure plot of the portions of the area that have been disinfected. In some implementations, the mobile robot may determine and/or detect portions of the area that have not received the dosage of UV light. For such portions, the mobile robot may adjust an arm with another light source to output UV light to the portion of the area, and/or onto the body of the mobile robot. The mobile robot may also disinfect at least a portion of one or more wheels that may have contacted one or more surfaces of the area.

The mobile robot may be used as part of a regular cleaning cycle of a room, building, or the like, and may prevent and/or reduce the spread of infectious diseases, viruses, bacteria, and other types of harmful organic microorganisms in the environment by breaking down their DNA-structure with UV light. The mobile robot may reduce human error in cleaning an area, room, building, or the like by tracking the location and/or intensity (e.g., optical power of UV light) of light radiated, and determine which areas may need to be radiated and/or cleaned. The mobile robot may prevent and/or reduce the spread of infectious diseases, viruses, bacteria, and other types of harmful organic microorganisms by using UV light to clean the wheels and/or body of the mobile robot.

The mobile robot may be operated manually, autonomously, and/or may receive control signals to control the movement of the mobile robot with a room, building, area, or the like when operating in a tele-operation mode.

Traditional disinfection methods and devices using ultraviolet light require that a person enter a room or area with the device. With such methods and devices, the person may introduce new contaminants to the room or area. Other methods and devices use disinfectants such as wipes, chemicals, and the like. However, airborne particles may settle on the surface treated with the wipes and/or chemicals. Moreover, traditional disinfection methods do not address the person introducing the contaminants to the room or area.

Implementations of the disclosed subject matter may deploy the mobile robot to a room, building, and/or area without putting a person (e.g., a member of a healthcare staff) at risk in a contaminated environment. That is, the mobile robot may disinfect air, surfaces, objects, and/or itself without putting a member of the healthcare staff at risk, may reduce the costs of protective equipment for a person, may reduce time in disinfecting, and/or may provide a report which includes details of the surfaces and/or objects that have been disinfected. Implementations of the disclosed subject matter may use UV light to disinfect the wheels and/or body of the mobile robot, so that it does not bring contaminants to other portions of a room or area, and/or to other locations.

<FIG> shows a method <NUM> of operating a mobile robot (e.g., mobile robot <NUM> shown in <FIG>) to output ultraviolet (UV) according to an implementation of the disclosed subject matter. At operation <NUM>, the mobile robot may be moved in a path (e.g., path <NUM> shown in <FIG> and/or path <NUM> shown in <FIG>) within a predetermined area using a drive system (e.g., drive system <NUM> shown in <FIG>, <FIG>, and <FIG>) of the mobile robot. At operation <NUM>, UV light may be output from a first light source (e.g., light source 111a, 111b, 111c, 111d, 111e, 111f shown in <FIG>) onto a portion of at least one of a plurality of wheels (e.g., wheels 109a, 109b, 109c, 109d, 109e, 109f shown in <FIG>) of the drive system based on a first dosage level. The outputted UV light may disinfect one or more of the wheels of the mobile robot, which may prevent the spread of contaminants in one or more areas.

The UV light from the light source may be output onto at least a portion of a surface which the mobile robot is positioned on or moving over. For example, the mobile robot may be stationary on a floor in a building and may output light onto the floor over which the mobile robot is positioned. In another example, the UV light may be output from the first light source (e.g., light source <NUM>1a, <NUM>1b, <NUM>1c, 111d, <NUM>1e, 111f shown in <FIG>) when the mobile robot is moving over the floor or surface, such as when the mobile robot is moving along the path. In these examples, the UV light may disinfect the floor and/or other surface over which the mobile robot moves or is positioned over.

In some implementations, method <NUM> may include outputting UV light from a second light source (e.g., light source <NUM> shown in <FIG>) onto one or more surfaces based on a second dosage level. The UV light output from the second light source when outputting the UV light from the first light source (e.g., light source <NUM>1a, 111b, 111c, 111d, 111e, 111f shown in <FIG>), and/or may output UV light from the second light source at a different time than outputting light from the first light source. The UV light output from the different light sources may disinfect surfaces, air, objects, and the like.

In some implementations, method <NUM> may include outputting light from a third light source (e.g., light source <NUM> shown in <FIG>) onto at least a portion of a body (e.g., body <NUM> shown in <FIG> and <FIG>) of the mobile robot based on a third dosage level. That is, the first light source (e.g., light source <NUM>1a, <NUM>1b, <NUM>1c, 111d, <NUM>1e, 111f shown in <FIG>) may disinfect one or more of the wheels of the mobile robot, and the third light source (e.g., light source <NUM> shown in <FIG>) may disinfect the body <NUM> of the mobile robot. The dosages of UV light output from the different light sources of the mobile robot may be different. The disinfection of the wheels and body of the mobile robot by one or more light sources may prevent the spread of contaminants to different areas.

The UV light may be output from the second light source (e.g., light source <NUM> shown in <FIG> and <FIG>) when outputting the UV light from the first light source (e.g., light source <NUM> shown in <FIG>). In some implementations, the UV light may be output from the second light source at a different time than outputting light from the first light source. The UV light may be output from the third light source (e.g., light source <NUM> shown in <FIG>) when outputting the UV light from the first light source. In some implementations, the UV light may be output from the third light source at a different time from when the UV light is output from the first light source and the second light source.

In the examples above, the dosage levels of UV light output from the different light sources may be different amplitudes of UV light, or may be the same dosage levels with the same amplitudes of UV light.

The first light source (e.g., light source 111a, 111b, 111c, 111d, 111e, 111f shown in <FIG>), second light source (e.g., light source <NUM> shown in <FIG> and <FIG>), and/or the third light source (e.g., light source <NUM> shown in <FIG>) may output UV light from a light emitting diode (LED), and organic light emitting diode (OLED), a bulb, and/or a UV light source.

In some implementations, operation <NUM> of method <NUM> may include outputting the UV light from the first light source (e.g., light source 111a, 111b, 111c, 111d, 111e, 111f shown in <FIG>) onto the at least a portion of the wheels (e.g., wheels 109a, 109b, 109c, 109d, 109e, 109f, shown in <FIG>) and the surface which the mobile robot is moving over when the mobile robot is moving towards a docking station (e.g., docking station <NUM> shown in <FIG>).

As shown in <FIG>, the mobile robot <NUM> may travel along path <NUM> to the docking station <NUM>. The mobile robot <NUM> may recharge its battery (e.g., to power the drive system <NUM>, the light sources <NUM>, 111a, 111b, 111c, 111d, 111e, 111f, <NUM>, and/or other components of the mobile robot shown in <FIG> and <FIG>) at the docking station <NUM>, and/or provide disinfection data (e.g., data regarding areas that the mobile robot disinfected) via a communications interface (e.g., network interface <NUM> shown in <FIG> or other communications interface). The mobile robot may receive instructions, paths, maps, or the like when coupled to the docking station <NUM>. That is, the docking station may provide power to charge the battery of the mobile robot, and may receive data from and/or provide data to the mobile robot via a communications interface. The docking station <NUM> may be communicatively coupled to network <NUM> (e.g., as shown in <FIG>), so that data may be provided from and/or transmitted to server <NUM>, database <NUM>, remote platform <NUM>, and/or another mobile robot (e.g., mobile robot <NUM>).

In some implementations, the mobile robot <NUM> may disinfect portions of the wheels 109a, 109b, 109c, 109d, 109e, 109f and/or the body <NUM> as the mobile robot moves between a first area and a second area. The first area and/or the second area may be different rooms, different portions of a room, a hallway and a room, different portions of a predetermined area, or the like.

In some implementations, method <NUM> may include adjusting, by a controller of the mobile robot (e.g., controller <NUM> shown in <FIG>), an orientation of the first light source (e.g., light source 111a, 111b, 111c, 111d, 111e, 111f shown in <FIG>) so that the first light source outputs UV light onto at least a portion of one of the plurality of wheels (e.g., wheels 109a, 109b, 109c, 109d, 109e, 109f shown in <FIG>). That is, the light source 111a, 111b, 111c, 111d, 111e, and/or 111f may be mounted so as to be actuated to change their orientation about one or more axes. This may change the direction that UV light may be output from the light source 111a, 111b, 111c, 111d, 111e, 111f The mounts for light source 111a, 111b, 111c, 111d, 111e, and/or 111f may include multi-axial mechanical mounts that may be oriented with one or more electrical motors (e.g., that are controlled by the controller of the mobile robot).

In some implementations, the controller communicatively coupled to the mobile robot may determine the path (e.g., path <NUM> shown in <FIG> and/or path <NUM> shown in <FIG>) of the mobile robot. For example, as shown in <FIG>, the controller may determine the path <NUM> for the mobile robot <NUM> in room <NUM>, having walls (e.g., surfaces <NUM>, <NUM>), floor (e.g., surface <NUM>), object <NUM> (e.g., a sink), object <NUM> (e.g., a bed), object <NUM> (e.g., <NUM>-hook IV stand), and the like. The path may be determined so that the mobile robot may output a dosage of UV light to the objects <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, and the surfaces <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM> to disinfect them in, for example, the shortest amount of time. The controller may be, for example, controller <NUM> shown in <FIG>, and/or server <NUM> and/or remote platform <NUM> which may be communicatively coupled to the mobile robot <NUM> via the network <NUM> as shown in <FIG>. In some implementations, the determined path may be a random path.

In some implementations, the path (e.g., path <NUM> shown in <FIG> and/or path <NUM> shown in <FIG>) may be determined based on an environment of the predetermined area (e.g., room <NUM> shown in <FIG> and <FIG>), providing a reduced time for disinfection of the predetermined area, and/or increasing the dosage to the one or more surfaces (e.g., surfaces <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM> shown in <FIG> and <NUM>; objects <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM> shown in <FIG> and <FIG>; and/or reference tag <NUM> shown in <FIG>).

The path may be determined, for example, based at least in part on a two dimensional map or a three-dimensional map generated by the controller (e.g., controller <NUM> shown in <FIG>, and/or server <NUM> and/or remote platform <NUM> which may be communicatively coupled to the mobile robot <NUM> via the network <NUM> as shown in FIG. <NUM>) and at least one sensor (e.g., sensor <NUM> and/or sensor <NUM>) of the mobile robot moving within the predetermined area (e.g., room <NUM>) at a previous point in time.

In some implementations, the path may be determined based on an amount of UV light that is to be output from the light source (e.g., light source <NUM>, <NUM><NUM>1a, 111b, 111c, 111d, 111e, 111f, <NUM> shown in <FIG>, <FIG>, and <FIG>) on the one or more surfaces (e.g., surfaces <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM> shown in <FIG> and <FIG>; objects <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM> shown in <FIG> and <FIG>; and/or reference tag <NUM> shown in <FIG>). In some implementations, the path may be a perimeter of the predetermined area (e.g., a perimeter of room <NUM> shown in <FIG>), and/or a path to the docking station (e.g., path <NUM> shown in <FIG>). In some implementations, the moving the mobile within the path may include moving the mobile robot in a predetermined pattern (e.g., a grid pattern along a determined pattern within the predetermined area, or the like).

In some implementations, the method <NUM> may include using the controller communicatively coupled to the mobile robot (e.g., controller <NUM> shown in <FIG>, and/or server <NUM> and/or remote platform <NUM> which may be communicatively coupled to the mobile robot <NUM> via the network <NUM> as shown in <FIG>) to determine whether the one or more surfaces (e.g., surfaces <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM> shown in <FIG> and <FIG>; objects <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM> shown in <FIG> and <FIG>; and/or reference tag <NUM> shown in <FIG>) have received a dosage of UV light.

In some implementations, the mobile robot may use a sensor (e.g., sensor <NUM>, <NUM> shown in <FIG>) to detect at least one hotspot within the predetermined area (e.g., room <NUM>). The hotspot may be a predetermined object (e.g., objects <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM> shown in <FIG> and <FIG>; and/or reference tag <NUM> shown in <FIG>), at least a portion of the predetermined area (e.g., surfaces <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM> shown in <FIG> and <FIG>), an object having a predetermined type of contaminant, and/or a portion of the floor and/or surface over which the mobile robot may travel (e.g., surface <NUM> and/or path <NUM> shown in <FIG>, and/or path <NUM> shown in <FIG>). For example, the at least one hotspot may be a chair, a seat, a bed, a sink, mirror, a door, a door handle, a wall, a floor, a ceiling, a shelf, a surface of a table, and any object and/or surface defined as the at least one hotspot in a memory (e.g., memory <NUM> and/or fixed storage <NUM> shown in <FIG>; database <NUM> shown in <FIG>) that is communicatively coupled to a controller (e.g., controller <NUM> shown in <FIG>, and/or server <NUM> and/or remote platform <NUM> which may be communicatively coupled to the mobile robot <NUM> via the network <NUM> as shown in <FIG>) of the mobile robot.

In some implementations, the UV light may be output from the at least one light source (e.g., light source <NUM> shown in <FIG>, light source 111a, 111b, 111c, 111d, 111e, 111f shown in <FIG>, and/or light source <NUM> shown in <FIG>) at a second dosage onto the at least one hotspot. This second dosage may be greater than the first dosage. That is, the intensity and/or duration of the UV light output to the hotspot based on the second dosage may be greater that the intensity and/or duration of the UV light output based on the first dosage.

In some implementations, the mobile robot may transmit, from a communications interface (e.g., network interface <NUM>), data including the one or more surfaces (e.g., surfaces <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM> shown in <FIG> and <FIG>; objects <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM> shown in <FIG> and <FIG>; and/or reference tag <NUM> shown in <FIG>) that have received a dosage of UV light.

<FIG> shows that the mobile robot <NUM> may include an adjustable, where the arm includes another light source (e.g., light source <NUM>) to output UV light, such as onto the body <NUM> of the mobile robot <NUM> according to an implementation of the disclosed subject matter. The controller (e.g., controller <NUM> shown in <FIG>) of the mobile robot <NUM> may adjust the arm <NUM>, and may control the operation of the light source <NUM>. The light source <NUM> may output UV light onto, for example, the body <NUM> of the mobile robot <NUM>, surfaces <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM> shown in <FIG> and <FIG>, objects <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM> shown in <FIG> and <FIG>, and/or reference tag <NUM> shown in <FIG>. The controller may determine the dosage level of UV light to be output, depending upon the surface and/or object to be radiated, including the body <NUM> of the mobile robot.

In some implementations, the mobile robot <NUM> may detect air, surfaces, and/or objects of an area to disinfect them with the UV light as shown in <FIG>. For example, sensors <NUM> and/or <NUM> of the mobile robot <NUM> may be used to detect surface <NUM> (e.g., a floor of the area), surface <NUM> and/or surface <NUM> (e.g., a wall of the area). The sensors <NUM> and/or <NUM> may be used to detect object <NUM> (e.g., a mirror), object <NUM> (e.g., a sink), and/or reference tag <NUM>. The reference tag <NUM> may have a first state, and may change to a second state when a dosage of UV light is applied to the reference tag <NUM>. In some implementations, the reference tag <NUM> may be a virtual reference tag that is represented in a map of the area, which may changes states when UV light is applied to the area that corresponds with the mapped area. In some implementations, the controller (e.g., controller <NUM> shown in <FIG>) may determine that one or more of the objects <NUM>, <NUM> are hotspots. UV light may be emitted by the light source <NUM> to disinfect the surfaces <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM> and/or the objects <NUM>, <NUM>. The map and the exposure plot may be generated by the controller of the mobile robot <NUM>.

<FIG> show a plurality of external views of the mobile robot <NUM> that includes sensors to detect surfaces and objects in an area, and a light source to output UV light having a first dosage based on a received dosage level to disinfect the air, objects, and/or surfaces in the area according to implementations of the disclosed subject matter. The mobile robot <NUM> having body <NUM> may include at least a first sensor <NUM> (shown as sensor 102a and 102b in <FIG>), a light source <NUM> to output ultraviolet light, at least a second sensor <NUM>, a drive system <NUM>, a user interface <NUM>, and/or a stop button <NUM>. A controller (e.g., controller <NUM> shown in <FIG> and described below) may be communicatively coupled to the at least one first sensor <NUM>, the light source <NUM>, the at least one second sensor <NUM>, the drive system <NUM>, the user interface <NUM> and the stop button <NUM>, may control the operations of the mobile robot <NUM>.

The at least one first sensor <NUM> (including sensors 102a, 102b shown in <FIG>) may determine at least one of an orientation of the mobile robot <NUM> (e.g., a direction that a front side and/or a first side of a robot is facing), a location of the mobile robot <NUM> (e.g., a location of the mobile robot <NUM> in an area), and/or when the light source <NUM> is within a predetermined distance of a surface and/or object in the area (e.g., surface <NUM>, <NUM>, and/or <NUM>, and/or object <NUM>, <NUM> shown in <FIG> and <FIG>). In some implementations, the first sensor <NUM> may detect air, a surface, a reference tag, and/or objects that may disinfected with UV light from the light source <NUM>.

In some implementations, the at least one first sensor <NUM> may have a field of view of <NUM> degrees diagonally. The at least one sensor <NUM> may have a detection distance of <NUM> - <NUM> meters. As shown in <FIG>, the at least one first sensor <NUM> may be disposed over the light source <NUM>.

The at least one first sensor <NUM> may include a first side sensor disposed on a first side of the mobile robot <NUM> and a second side sensor that may be disposed on a second side of the device. For example, as shown in <FIG>, sensor 102a may be disposed on a first side (e.g., a front side) of the mobile robot <NUM>, and sensor 102b may be disposed on a second side (e.g., a back side) of the mobile robot <NUM>. Although sensors on two sides of the robot are shown in <FIG>, there may be a plurality of sensors disposed on different sides of the mobile robot <NUM> to at least detect surfaces and/or objects. In some implementations, sensor 102a and/or sensor 102b may be disposed over the light source <NUM>.

The light source <NUM> may be one or more bulbs, one or more lamps, and/or an array of light emitting diodes (LEDs) or organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs) to emit UV light (e.g., light having a wavelength of <NUM> - <NUM>). The dosage of the UV light (e.g., intensity, duration, optical power output, or the like) may be controlled by the controller <NUM>, which may also turn on or off a portion or all of the devices (e.g., bulbs, lamps, LEDs, OLEDs) of the light source <NUM>. The light source may be controlled to emit UV light when the mobile robot is within an area, as the mobile robot moves within the area, before the mapping of the area, during the mapping of the area, and/or after the mapping of the area.

In some implementations, the mobile robot may include light source <NUM> which may be coupled to a robotic arm <NUM> of the mobile robot <NUM>. The light source <NUM> may emit UV light from one or more bulbs, one or more lamps, and/or an array of light emitting diodes (LEDs) or organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs) to emit UV light (e.g., light having a wavelength of <NUM> - <NUM>). The light source <NUM> may be controlled to emit UV light. In some implementations, the light source <NUM> may be used to provide a dosage of UV light to the body <NUM> of the mobile robot <NUM>, air, objects, surfaces, reference tags, or the like. Movement of the arm <NUM> may be controlled by the controller <NUM> shown in <FIG>.

The at least one second sensor <NUM> may be communicatively coupled to the controller <NUM> shown in <FIG>, and may be used to detect air, surfaces, and/or objects that may be disinfected with UV light from the light source <NUM>. In some implementations, the at least one second sensor <NUM> may determine at least one of an orientation of the mobile robot <NUM> (e.g., a direction that a front side and/or a first side of a robot is facing), a location of the mobile robot <NUM> (e.g., a location of the mobile robot <NUM> in an area), and/or when the light source <NUM> is within a predetermined distance of a surface and/or object in the area (e.g., surface <NUM>, <NUM>, and/or <NUM>, and/or object <NUM>, <NUM> shown in <FIG>).

In some implementations, the sensor <NUM>, <NUM> may be a time-of-flight sensor, an ultrasonic sensor, a two-dimensional (2D) Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) sensor, a three-dimensional (3D) LiDAR sensor, and/or a radar (radio detection and ranging) sensor, a stereo vision sensor, 3D three camera, a structured light camera, or the like. The sensor <NUM> may have a field of view of <NUM>-<NUM> degrees. In some implementations, the sensor <NUM> may have a detection distance of <NUM> - <NUM> meters.

The mobile robot <NUM> may include a motor to drive the drive system <NUM> to move the mobile robot in an area, such as a room, a building, or the like. The drive system <NUM> may be part of body <NUM>, and the sensor <NUM>, <NUM> may be disposed on the body <NUM>. The drive system <NUM> may include wheels, which may be adjustable so that the drive system <NUM> may control the direction of the mobile robot <NUM>.

<FIG> show a bottom view of the drive system <NUM>, which includes wheels 109a, 109b, 109c, 109d, 109e, and/or 109f, and light source 111a, 111b, 111c, 111d, 111e, and/or 111f which may output UV light at a dosage controlled by the controller <NUM> shown in <FIG>. The light source 111a, 111b, 111c, 111d, 111e, 111f may be one or more bulbs, one or more lamps, and/or an array of light emitting diodes (LEDs) or organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs) to emit UV light (e.g., light having a wavelength of <NUM> - <NUM>). The UV light may be emitted onto at least a portion of one or more of the wheels 109a, 109b, 109c, 109d, 109e, 109f and/or onto a surface over which the drive system <NUM> is positioned on and/or moving over.

The controller <NUM> may control and/or operate the mobile robot <NUM> in an operation mode which may be a manual mode, an autonomous mode, and/or a tele-operation mode. In the manual mode, the controller <NUM> may receive on or more control signals from the user interface <NUM> and/or the stop button <NUM>. For example, a user may control the movement, direction, and/or stop the motion of the mobile robot <NUM> by making one or more selections on the user interface <NUM>. The stop button <NUM> may be an emergency stop (ESTOP) button which may stop all operations and/or movement of the mobile robot <NUM> when selected. In some implementations, the controller <NUM> may receive at least one control signal via a network interface <NUM> (shown in <FIG>) when operating when operating in the tele-operation mode. For example, the network interface may receive control signals via network <NUM> from server <NUM>, database <NUM>, and/or remote platform <NUM>, as described below in connection with <FIG>.

In some implementations, when the mobile robot <NUM> is moving in a direction, the sensor <NUM>, <NUM> may detect a geometry of one or more surfaces (e.g., surfaces <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM> shown in <FIG>), objects (e.g., objects <NUM>, <NUM> shown in <FIG>), and/or reference tags (e.g., reference tag <NUM> shown in <FIG>). The output of the at least one first sensor <NUM> may be, for example, a point cloud of the one or more objects in the path of the mobile robot <NUM>. When the sensor <NUM> and/or sensor <NUM> is a stereo vision sensor, images from two sensors (i.e., where the two sensors may be part of the stereo vision sensor of the sensor <NUM> and/or sensor <NUM>) within a known distance from one another distance may be captured at a predetermined point in time, and/or at predetermined time intervals with a global shutter. The global shutter may be configured so that the two sensors of the stereo vision sensor may capture images about simultaneously. One or more features (e.g., surfaces <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, and/or objects <NUM>, <NUM>, and/or reference tag <NUM> shown in <FIG>) may be determined from the captured images, and be compared to one another to determine portions that are matching. As the focal length of the two sensors of the stereo vision sensor and the distance between the two sensors (e.g., about <NUM>) may be stored in memory <NUM> and/or fixed storage <NUM> (shown in <FIG>), the controller <NUM> and/or the at least one first sensor <NUM> may use the captured images and the stored values to determine the distance from the sensor <NUM>, <NUM> to the surfaces and/or objects, and may be used by the controller for outputting a dosage of UV light from the light source. In some implementations, the sensor <NUM>, <NUM> may include at least one laser, LED, and/or OLED, to radiate one or more points on surfaces of objects, when the objects may be without identifying features (e.g., blank walls).

When detecting the surface and/or object, the sensor <NUM>, <NUM> may be a time-of-flight (TOF) sensor. At least one photon of light may be output by the sensor <NUM>, <NUM>, and may be transmitted through the air. When the at least one photon of light radiates surface and/or an object, a portion of the light may be reflected by the surface and/or the object may return to a receiver portion of the sensor <NUM>, <NUM>. The sensor <NUM> may calculate the time between sending the at least one photon of light and receiving the reflection, and multiply this value by the speed of light in air, to determine the distance between the sensor <NUM>, <NUM> and surface and/or object. This may be used to generate the map of the area that the mobile robot is operating within.

<FIG> shows example components of the mobile robot <NUM> suitable for providing the implementations of the disclosed subject matter. The mobile robot <NUM> may include a bus <NUM> which interconnects major components of the mobile robot <NUM>, such as the drive system <NUM>, a network interface <NUM> operable to communicate with one or more remote devices via a suitable network connection, the controller <NUM>, a memory <NUM> such as Random Access Memory (RAM), Read Only Memory (ROM), flash RAM, or the like, the stop button <NUM>, the light source <NUM>, 111a, 111b, 111c, 111d, 111e, 111f and/or <NUM>, the at least one first sensor <NUM>, a user interface <NUM> that may include one or more controllers and associated user input devices such as a keyboard, touch screen, and the like, a fixed storage <NUM> such as a hard drive, flash storage, and the like, and the at least one second sensor <NUM>.

The bus <NUM> allows data communication between the controller <NUM> and one or more memory components, which may include RAM, ROM, and other memory, as previously noted. Typically RAM is the main memory into which an operating system and application programs are loaded. A ROM or flash memory component can contain, among other code, the Basic Input-Output system (BIOS) which controls basic hardware operation such as the interaction with peripheral components. Applications resident with the mobile robot <NUM> are generally stored on and accessed via a computer readable medium (e.g., fixed storage <NUM>), such as a solid state drive, hard disk drive, an optical drive, solid state drive, or other storage medium.

The network interface <NUM> may provide a direct connection to a remote server (e.g., server <NUM>, database <NUM>, and/or remote platform <NUM> shown in <FIG>) via a wired or wireless connection (e.g., network <NUM> shown in <FIG>). The network interface <NUM> may provide such connection using any suitable technique and protocol as will be readily understood by one of skill in the art, including digital cellular telephone, WiFi, Bluetooth(R), near-field, and the like. For example, the network interface <NUM> may allow the mobile robot <NUM> to communicate with other computers via one or more local, wide-area, or other communication networks, as described in further detail below. The mobile robot may transmit data via the network interface to the remote server that may include a path of operation, the surfaces and/or areas radiated with UV light, and the like.

Many other devices or components (not shown) may be connected in a similar manner. Conversely, all of the components shown in <FIG> need not be present to practice the present disclosure. The components can be interconnected in different ways from that shown. Code to implement the present disclosure can be stored in computer-readable storage media such as one or more of the memory <NUM>, fixed storage <NUM>, or on a remote storage location.

<FIG> shows an example network arrangement according to an implementation of the disclosed subject matter. Mobile robot <NUM> described above, and/or a similar mobile robot <NUM> may connect to other devices via network <NUM>. The network <NUM> may be a local network, wide-area network, the Internet, or any other suitable communication network or networks, and may be implemented on any suitable platform including wired and/or wireless networks. The mobile robot <NUM> and/or mobile robot <NUM> may communicate with one another, and/or may communicate with one or more remote devices, such as server <NUM>, database <NUM>, and/or remote platform <NUM>. The remote devices may be directly accessible by the mobile robot <NUM>, <NUM> or one or more other devices may provide intermediary access such as where a server <NUM> provides access to resources stored in a database <NUM>. The mobile robot <NUM>, <NUM> may access remote platform <NUM> or services provided by remote platform <NUM> such as cloud computing arrangements and services. The remote platform <NUM> may include one or more servers <NUM> and/or databases <NUM>. In some implementations, remote platform <NUM> and/or server <NUM> may remotely control the mobile robot <NUM> and/or mobile robot <NUM>.

More generally, various implementations of the presently disclosed subject matter may include or be embodied in the form of computer-implemented processes and apparatuses for practicing those processes. Implementations also may be embodied in the form of a computer program product having computer program code containing instructions embodied in non-transitory and/or tangible media, such as solid state drives, DVDs, CD-ROMs, hard drives, USB (universal serial bus) drives, or any other machine readable storage medium, such that when the computer program code is loaded into and executed by a computer, the computer becomes an apparatus for practicing implementations of the disclosed subject matter. Implementations also may be embodied in the form of computer program code, for example, whether stored in a storage medium, loaded into and/or executed by a computer, or transmitted over some transmission medium, such as over electrical wiring or cabling, through fiber optics, or via electromagnetic radiation, such that when the computer program code is loaded into and executed by a computer, the computer becomes an apparatus for practicing implementations of the disclosed subject matter.

In some configurations, a set of computer-readable instructions stored on a computer-readable storage medium may be implemented by a general-purpose processor, which may transform the general-purpose processor or a device containing the general-purpose processor into a special-purpose device configured to implement or carry out the instructions. Implementations may include using hardware that has a processor, such as a general purpose microprocessor and/or an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC) that embodies all or part of the techniques according to implementations of the disclosed subject matter in hardware and/or firmware. The processor (e.g., controller <NUM> shown in <FIG>) may be coupled to memory, such as RAM, ROM, flash memory, a hard disk or any other device capable of storing electronic information. The memory may store instructions adapted to be executed by the processor to perform the techniques according to implementations of the disclosed subject matter.

The foregoing description, for purpose of explanation, has been described with reference to specific implementations. However, the illustrative discussions above are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit implementations of the disclosed subject matter to the precise forms disclosed. Many modifications and variations are possible in view of the above teachings as long as they fall within the scope of the claims.

Claim 1:
A method (<NUM>) comprising:
moving (<NUM>) a mobile robot (<NUM>) in a path within a predetermined area using a drive system of the mobile robot (<NUM>); and
outputting (<NUM>) ultraviolet (UV) light from a first light source onto a portion of at least one of a plurality of wheels of the drive system based on a first dosage level,
characterized by outputting the UV light from the first light source onto at least a portion of a surface which the mobile robot (<NUM>) is positioned on or moving over.