Byun, Jaewon Byun, Joonsub Kang, Junsu Yi, Inje Lee, Jungwoo Noh, Kyoungseok Kim, Jongchan Choi, Youngho Chung, Goobong Oh, Sangrok Kim, Keehoon 2025-05-11T07:00:27Z 2025-05-11T07:00:27Z 2025-05-07 2025-03 1070-9932 https://pubs.kist.re.kr/handle/201004/152423 This article explores the advent of an innovative autonomous robot designed to enhance hospital disinfection through targeted wiping and ultraviolet-C (UV-C) irradiation methods. The urgency for such advancements has been underscored by the COVID-19 pandemic, which revealed challenges, such as low compliance rates, physical fatigue, labor shortages, and heightened risk of pathogen exposure for disinfection workers. Traditional disinfection approaches, including UV-C irradiation mobile robots and hydrogen peroxide vapor methods, while effective, fall short in addressing obstacles like shaded areas and surface contaminants. To bridge this gap, we introduce a novel robot that combines physical wiping to remove contaminants with targeted UV-C irradiation for areas less amenable to wiping. Our development efforts have centered on optimizing disinfection efficacy and ensuring the robot's reliability for practical applications in real-world hospitals. The performance and usability of this autonomous disinfection robot were thoroughly assessed at Pohang St. Mary's Hospital, demonstrating its potential to transform hospital disinfection practices by complementing traditional disinfection tasks with advanced robotic assistance. English Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Autonomous Ultraviolet-C Disinfection and Wiping Robot: Assessment in a Hospital Environment Article 10.1109/MRA.2025.3543958 1 IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine N scie scopus 2-s2.0-105001275829 Automation & Control Systems Robotics Automation & Control Systems Robotics Article; Early Access Fabrics Radiation effects Planning Sensors Hydrogen Floors Motors Robots Hospitals Manipulators