Problem Statement:

• The Interim Recommendations for U.S. Community Facilities with Suspected/Confirmed Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) issued by the US CDC recommends explicit steps for disinfecting the indoor spaces potentially used by the ill persons, focusing especially on frequently touched surfaces.

• The conventional method of washing and cleaning of surfaces and materials with disinfecting liquid/materials, however, exposes the most disadvantaged workers at the frontline and increases the risk of exposures and disease contraction for the cleaning crew.

• Mobile UV-C units- providing non-contact solutions- often are bulky, heavy, and slow. Most importantly they fail to deliver UV-C uniformly over surfaces due to their limited radiation pattern.

Proposed Solution:

• UCSD’s DetecDrone Lab is home to an extensive AI-based drone platform that provides AI and controlled autonomy for cheap off-the-shelf drones with the specific aim of augmenting human vision and sensing.

• DetecDrone Lab members are the experts who can retrofit the platform’s capability to allow the drones to become a highly agile and efficient UV-C delivery platform.

• In collaborations with experts in medicine and infection prevention, we propose to test the germicidal efficacy of the drones in delivering UV-C given flight elevation and duration. We aim to provide a guideline for optimizing the flight path of the drone.

• Additionally, we will also produce a series of videos to educate users with off-the-shelf educational or recreational drones to replicate and expand on the platform.

• Educational and recreational drones have a sufficiently tech/digital savvy user base – well positioned to replicate the prototype and volunteer in the fight against the spread of the disease. UCSD’s social media presence would allow us to reach this wider community of educational/recreational drone users and volunteers