The COVID-19 pandemic has brought to the forefront the critical importance of thorough disinfection, particularly within hospital environments. However, traditional manual disinfection methods have inherent limitations, including labor shortages due to physical fatigue and risk of exposure to pathogens, inconsistent human performance, and difficulty in reaching obscured or hard-to-reach areas.

To address these challenges, a team of researchers from Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH) has developed an “Intelligent Autonomous Wiping and UV-C Disinfection Robot” that can automate hospital disinfection processes. This innovative robot is capable of navigating through hospital environments and performing disinfection tasks with precision and consistency.

The key feature of this robot is its dual disinfection system, which combines physical wiping and UV-C irradiation to effectively remove contaminants from surfaces. The robotic manipulator uses a wiping mechanism to physically clean high-touch areas, while the UV-C light ensures thorough disinfection of hard-to-reach corners and narrow spaces.

Real-world testing at Pohang St. Mary’s Hospital validated the robot’s performance, with bacterial culture experiments confirming its effectiveness in disinfecting surfaces. Repeated autonomous operations were carried out to verify its long-term usability in clinical settings.

The significance of this technology lies in its ability to automate time-consuming and repetitive disinfection tasks, allowing healthcare professionals to devote more attention to patient care. Additionally, the robot’s precision control algorithms minimize operational failures, while its integration with a self-sanitizing station and wireless charging system ensures sustained disinfection operations.

Professor Keehoon Kim emphasized that despite COVID-19 transitioning into an endemic phase, it remains essential to prepare for future pandemics by advancing this disinfection robot technology beyond hospitals to public facilities, social infrastructures, and everyday environments to further reduce infection risks. This work was supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) grant funded by the Korea government (MSIT).

Bismuth, a relatively unknown metal, has been found to possess a stable and unique electrical property that could revolutionize the field of green electronics. Researchers at McGill University have made a groundbreaking discovery that challenges conventional wisdom in physics and opens up new possibilities for more efficient, stable, and environmentally friendly electronic components.

The team, led by Professor Guillaume Gervais, observed an unusual electrical effect in ultra-thin bismuth flakes, which remained unchanged across a wide temperature range, from near absolute zero to room temperature. This discovery has the potential to lead to the development of electronic devices that can function more efficiently and reliably in extreme conditions, making them ideal for space exploration, medical uses, and other high-temperature applications.

“We were so surprised by this finding,” said Gervais, “and we couldn’t believe it when our students told us they had won a bottle of wine from me on a bet. I was convinced that the effect would disappear once we increased the temperature, but it stubbornly refused to go away.”

The researchers developed a new technique for creating ultra-thin bismuth flakes by patterned microscopic trenches onto a semiconductor wafer and mechanically shaving off thin layers of the metal. They then tested these flakes under extreme magnetic fields at the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory in Florida.

This discovery has sparked interest in the scientific community, with many speculating about the potential implications for the development of topological materials and quantum computing. Gervais and his team are now exploring whether bismuth’s anomalous Hall effect can be converted into its quantum counterpart, which could pave the way for electronic devices that function at higher temperatures than previously possible.

The research was supported by various organizations, including the New Frontiers in Research Fund, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), and the National Science Foundation (NSF).

This discovery has significant potential to revolutionize the field of green electronics and could lead to breakthroughs in space exploration, medical uses, and other high-temperature applications. As researchers continue to explore the properties of bismuth, we may see a new generation of electronic devices that are more efficient, stable, and environmentally friendly.

The development of advanced robotic touch has been hindered by a seemingly innocuous yet critical issue – the insulating layer in robotic skin. Researchers at Northwestern University and Tel Aviv University have successfully overcome this barrier, paving the way for low-cost solutions that enable robots to mimic human touch.

In their study, the researchers observed that inexpensive silicon rubber composites used to make robotic skin host an insulating layer on both top and bottom surfaces. This prevents direct electrical contact between the sensing polymer and the monitoring surface electrodes, making accurate and repeatable measurements impossible. By eliminating this error, cheap robotic skins can now allow robots to sense an object’s curves and edges, essential for proper grasping.

The research team, consisting of electrical engineers and polymer materials scientists, shed light on this problem in a paper published in Advanced Electronic Materials. The study highlights the importance of validating electrical contacts, which might unknowingly obscure device performance.

“A lot of scientists misunderstand their sensor response because they lump together the behavior of the contacts with the behavior of the sensor material, resulting in inconsistent data,” said Matthew Grayson, professor of electrical and computer engineering at Northwestern’s McCormick School of Engineering. “Our work identifies the exact problem, quantifies its extent both microscopically and electrically, and gives a clear step-by-step trouble-shooting manual to fix the problem.”

The researchers detected that adding electrically conducting fillers like carbon nanotubes to rubber composites creates an ideal candidate for touch sensors. However, this material needs electrical signals, which are blocked by the insulating layer. By sanding down the ultrathin insulation layer, the team achieved a stronger electrical contact and calibrated the thickness of the insulating layer.

The collaboration between Northwestern University and Tel Aviv University is essential in addressing the “contact preparation” challenge. The researchers relied on each other’s expertise to prepare materials and study their properties, leading to consistent results across various variables.

As awareness spreads among researchers about the issue of reproducibility in touch sensing literature, new publications can be more rigorously relied upon to advance the field with new capabilities. The research was supported by various organizations, including the U.S. National Science Foundation, Northwestern University, and Tel Aviv University through the Center for Nanoscience & Nanotechnology.

The breakthrough has significant implications for robotics development, enabling robots to sense and interact with their environment more effectively. By overcoming this critical barrier, researchers have opened up new possibilities for advanced robotic touch, paving the way for future innovations in robotics and beyond.