Robot Created by Don Bosco College of Engineering Students.
Sanitizing Robot project created by engineering students selected by the state department of science & technology for reimbursement of the amount spent in preparation of the prototype.
Robot Created by Don Bosco College of Engineering Students.
Three final year students of Don Bosco college of engineering, Fatorda, take this project as a challenge to design and find solutions for the workers. Workers get exposed to harmful chemicals while sanitizing buildings so students try to reduce risk factors to the workers. As a result, the team came up with a robotics solution. A wheeled robot with 400 meters operating rang and with both the ability to spraying chemicals and ultraviolet light to sanitize the rooms.
The students – Vivek Khadilkar, Saeel Kamat, and Drasti Naik of the electronics and telecommunication branch – are now planning to patent their disinfecting robot design. The state department of science and technology select this project and the department will reimbursement of the amount spent in preparing this robotics disinfectant prototype.
Chief minister Pramod Sawant & health minister Vishwajit Rane, after witnessing the functioning of the robot, have also approved a demonstration for officials of the directorate of health services for possible implementation.
Khadilkar told to robotics India“Last year, as the country was fighting against the pandemic, we had to select a subject for our final year project”.
“We have seen different photographs in newspapers & on social media of workers who spray chemicals for sanitization of buildings by carrying the tank of chemicals on their back. The chemicals are highly concentrated & pose risk to their life, so we thought of coming out with a solution.”
The students explain that the ultraviolet method is helpful for indoor spaces while spraying chemicals is more useful in outdoor conditions because it leaves watery residue behind.
“If our wheeled robot is fully charged then it can work for 8- hours straight,” Khadilkar said. “It has two batteries of 12Volt each. For spraying, the robot has five nozzles that can spray liquids up to six meters. It has a tank with 45 litters chemical holding capacity. The ultraviolet sanitization is available in the same device, with three tube lights of 230 volts each, including one below to sanitize the floors.”
The students said that ultraviolet light of two hundred nanometers wavelength can break the chain of the virus.“The device has been intentionally designed as a remote-controlled one and not coded to be fully automatic, so it can be used in different locations. It is not coded to work as per the floor layout of one particular hospital or location,” said Naik.
The students created this robot prototype within Rs 95,000 cost, under the guidance of their professors, Mohini Naik and Michelle Araujo.
“We started working on this robotics prototype in June 2020 and our team completes this project in February 2021. The project was also supported by our college director Fr. Kinley D’Cruz, principal Neena Panandikar and head of department Varsha Turkar,” said Khadilkar.
The students are now hoping that their robot will help in the remote sanitization in offices, open markets, hospitals, and other public places without the intervention of any frontline worker. The health department & the government will definitely help these youngsters in making more of these robotics devices for the benefit of the state.
