IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine - March 2021 - 44

DIH-HERO COVID-19 call, the extension of an existing
robot, called Lio, from F&P Robotics was funded. Lio is a
personal assistant robot capable of autonomous navigation
and interaction with the environment and people. Lio consists of a base platform, a 4-DoF robotic arm, and a gripper.
The base platform is equipped with two depth cameras and
two lidars to map the
environment and embedded loudspeakers and
Robots can also
microphones to verbally
interact with people. The
strengthen emotional
robotic arm features safety-compliant position
well-being, especially
control to gently interact
with people and highwhen patients are
impedance objects. Lio's
gripper has two customisolated, by providing
designed fingers with soft
covers for grasping, lifteither a means of
ing, and manipulating
objects up to 130 mm. It
communication with
is designed to deliver food
and distribute and colfamily members or
lect goods.
The extension conentertainment.
sisted of equipping Lio
with a handheld ultraviolet (UV) device, allowing it to disinfect frequently touched surfaces. In this
context, it further supports health-care professionals (see
the " Discussion and Conclusions " section) and helps limit
the spread of the virus. The added value of Lio is particularly applicable for isolated patients in normal wards or
nursing homes as they are often unable to leave and a limited or a no-visitor policy is in place. Technology that alleviates isolation and provides support services can have an
enormous impact, not only for inpatient care but also for
the care of immobile patients in nursing homes especially
when there is a shortage of care staff. Robots can provide
support services and connection to the outside world, giving patients more independence and reducing the workload of health-care workers, allowing them to focus on
more complex tasks.
Robotics Response in Support
of Health-Care Professionals
Robots supporting professionals is a multifaceted area with
high potential but many unsolved challenges. This area also
covers a broad spectrum of applications, such as assistants
that help with daily tasks like dressing and lifting patients
from bed [13], monitor the health- and safety-related
aspects of patients, and meet patient needs while respecting all ethical concerns [14]. Other applications include
clinical training bots, the distribution of drugs, specimen
collection, patient tissue-related material handling, and
bed transport.
44

IEEE ROBOTICS & AUTOMATION MAGAZINE

MARCH 2021

During the COVID-19 pandemic, contactless supply
and support in disinfection is an essential target application
to support medical professionals over the complete course
of the disease (Figure 1), as demonstrated by the number of
DIH-HERO projects awarded grants for this purpose (see
Table 1). According to clinical feedback from the funded
projects, these systems are vitally needed, and establishing
trust in proven disinfection methods is crucial for the
uptake of mobile disinfection platforms. The most
common disinfection techniques are based on 1) hydrogen
peroxide, which uses oxidative processes to kill microorganisms, and 2) UV light, which destroys microorganisms
by denaturing DNA and RNA.
The design of these robots must consider the risk of toxicity to people in the environment as well as optimal navigation through workspaces. Precise navigation is essential
to ensure adequate disinfection coverage and guarantee
obstacle avoidance. These requirements are the same for
robot applications in spaces such as hospitals, ambulances, clean rooms, and nursing homes, and the robots must
be able to process items such as tables, beds, trolleys, and
door handles. How robots function in environments that
may include humans is vital to meet relevant safety standards, and consideration must be given to the UV radiation wavelength, amount of time of exposure, radiation
or application angle, and spraying method (direct,
hybrid, or fogging).
Six disinfection projects and one logistics support project have been funded based on the DIH-HERO COVID-19
call in this area. Akara Robotics is developing an affordable
UV solution that can speed up the disinfection of radiology
treatment rooms tenfold. MetraLabs' portable and agile
autonomous disinfection robot STERY uses UV lights sensors to detect the correct exposure for disinfecting specific
objects. It introduces a user-friendly mobile application for
the disinfection process configuration and autonomous
charging at a provided docking station. In addition, KELO
Robotics is developing a mobile robot that can work in the
proximity of humans by modulating UV-C as needed. Its
person-detection system is based on four red, green, blue
(RGB) cameras providing a 360° field of view. Jonker-Makis
Robotics' SAM-Air autonomous mobile disinfection robot
combines air filtering with a probiotics surface-cleaning
spray that can achieve an affordable, around-the-clock, safe
disinfection solution.
Rubedo Sistemos is upgrading its existing autonomous
mobile robot to include disinfection modules that utilize an
ionized hydrogen peroxide mist spray that is nontoxic and
leaves no residual deposits on disinfected surfaces other
than water vapor and oxygen. It is noncorrosive, friendly to
various materials, and does not damage medical equipment
or computers. Rubedo Sistemos' VIPER Perception System,
powered by the NVIDIA Jetson TX2 graphics processing
unit, which is integrated with the solution, detects humans,
while the company's ORCA smart navigation system allows
users to create a catalog of disinfection maps (to specify

IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine - March 2021

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