An Autonomous Mecanum-Wheeled Robotic System For Air Quality And Health Monitoring, Sanitation, And Delivery In Hotels And Other Hospitality Facilities To Improve Social Service Provision In Oman's Tourism Sector

Abstract

This paper presents the design, programming, and deployment of a VEX mecanum-wheeled autonomous robotic system (MAROH) to perform the following task within indoor hospitality facilities: (a) navigate the indoor premises and measure body temperatures of guests and staff, while also monitoring indoor air quality metrics; (b) perform sanitation functions which include decontaminating objects in rooms using UV light and collecting trash; (c) do security functions by issuing an alert notification to a safety and security officer in cases of fever detection among individuals, as well as instances where social distancing and facial mask restrictions were not being followed, and (d) deliver various items and food not more than 2kg from one location to another.  The robotic system was controlled and monitored using a Vex Cortex microcontroller, which was interconnected with various types of sensing and actuation devices. To address the challenges of obstacle avoidance and robot speed control, a rule-based system was implemented. A user-friendly interface has been developed for the purpose of managing robotic task and configuring delivery routes using smartphone applications. The Internet of Things technology allows real-time monitoring of air quality conditions and individual body temperatures, as well as access to the collected data on ThingSpeak and Particle cloud servers.  Phone and web cameras were employed to enhance the visual perception of robots for security purposes. A machine learning technique was used to identify compliance with the facemask and social distancing guidelines. Furthermore, a solar-powered wireless charging docking station was designed as an economical solution for powering the robot. The experimental data and findings showed the performance of the robotic system in completing its assigned tasks with an improved average speed of 0.407 m/s and a reliability rate of 95.0%.