Grant: Alliance Grants

Currently, UV sterilization is becoming a fast-growing and invaluable option for disinfecting surfaces and workplaces over manual solutions because it is not wet and does not leave behind residue. While it is used in hospitals and food manufactures, UV is hardly considered for retails shops, restaurants, classrooms, medical offices, etc. because it is confusing to figure out which UV sterilization device is the right choice for the facility. For example, hospital-grade mobile UV sterilizing systems can cost anywhere between $50,000 and $90,000 US per robot, which is too expensive for some small businesses. Handheld UV devices sold online are not recommended by the Illuminating Engineering Society (IES) because they are not effective against COVID-19, and the handling of UV should be done in a more controlled environment. Also, UV-based disinfection systems need to be optimized according to space layout, size, the intensity of the light, exposure time, which require specialist assessment and optimization. In this research project, we will work with ASM Innovations Inc. and Qponics Biotechnology Inc. to design and develop a cloud-based system that integrates different types of UV devices (UV robots, smart fixture UV bulbs, etc.) in the environment as one system. The proposed solution employs Artificial Intelligent (AI) mechanisms to optimize the choice of UV devices and their operation according to the location variables (e.g., size, geometry, layout, type of rooms). Furthermore, it is expected to be cheaper than existing solutions because the computations are carried on the cloud system. The proposed solution will help Canada to ramp up its technological capacity to fight COVID-19 considering the tremendous amount of work ahead of us to disinfect public spaces and create safe environments for Canadians. Furthermore, considering the huge international demand, Canada needs this technology to be internationally competitive in this area. Finally, the proposed system will potentially reduce healthcare-associated infections and their consequences, including health complications, deaths, and extra costs.