Personal air cleaning by a user-tracking robot equipped with a nanofiber air cleaner in a large work space
In large work spaces, such as logistics warehouses, implementing whole-space air cleaning to protect the workers’ health can be costly. To tackle this issue, the present study developed a user-tracking robot equipped with a nanofiber air cleaner to achieve personal air cleaning for a moving worker i...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2025-03-01
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| Series: | Indoor Environments |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2950362025000074 |
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| _version_ | 1825199276206063616 |
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| author | Chengzhong Deng Zhuolun Niu Chun Chen |
| author_facet | Chengzhong Deng Zhuolun Niu Chun Chen |
| author_sort | Chengzhong Deng |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | In large work spaces, such as logistics warehouses, implementing whole-space air cleaning to protect the workers’ health can be costly. To tackle this issue, the present study developed a user-tracking robot equipped with a nanofiber air cleaner to achieve personal air cleaning for a moving worker in a large work space. First, nanofiber air filters with low pressure drop were fabricated using the electrospinning technique. An air cleaner with a deflector for directing the airflow towards the user’s breathing zone and the nanofiber air filters was assembled and then integrated into a user-tracking robot. Experiments were conducted to measure the clean air delivery rate (CADR) of the nanofiber air cleaner, evaluate the accuracy of the user-tracking algorithm, and determine the optimal deflector setup and user-to-robot distance. Field tests were conducted to evaluate the personal air cleaning performance of the proposed method by comparison with a stationary nanofiber air cleaner. The results show that the user-tracking algorithm of the user-tracking robot was accurate, with an average absolute error in the user-to-robot distance of 4 cm. The user-tracking robot with nanofiber air cleaner outperformed the stationary nanofiber air cleaner by reducing the concentration of 0.3–0.4 μm particles in the breathing zone of the user by 16.4 %. Furthermore, compared with commercial panel-type high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filters, the use of nanofiber air filters can extend the battery service life, consequently facilitating the practical application of the moving robot. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-8f725accc2ed4409a0a6f68184000192 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2950-3620 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-03-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Indoor Environments |
| spelling | doaj-art-8f725accc2ed4409a0a6f681840001922025-02-08T05:01:51ZengElsevierIndoor Environments2950-36202025-03-0121100078Personal air cleaning by a user-tracking robot equipped with a nanofiber air cleaner in a large work spaceChengzhong Deng0Zhuolun Niu1Chun Chen2Department of Mechanical and Automation Engineering, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, N.T., 999077, Hong Kong SAR, ChinaDepartment of Mechanical and Automation Engineering, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, N.T., 999077, Hong Kong SAR, ChinaDepartment of Mechanical and Automation Engineering, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, N.T., 999077, Hong Kong SAR, China; Institute of Environment, Energy and Sustainability, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin N.T., 999077, Hong Kong SAR, China; Corresponding author at: Department of Mechanical and Automation Engineering, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, N.T., 999077, Hong Kong SAR, China.In large work spaces, such as logistics warehouses, implementing whole-space air cleaning to protect the workers’ health can be costly. To tackle this issue, the present study developed a user-tracking robot equipped with a nanofiber air cleaner to achieve personal air cleaning for a moving worker in a large work space. First, nanofiber air filters with low pressure drop were fabricated using the electrospinning technique. An air cleaner with a deflector for directing the airflow towards the user’s breathing zone and the nanofiber air filters was assembled and then integrated into a user-tracking robot. Experiments were conducted to measure the clean air delivery rate (CADR) of the nanofiber air cleaner, evaluate the accuracy of the user-tracking algorithm, and determine the optimal deflector setup and user-to-robot distance. Field tests were conducted to evaluate the personal air cleaning performance of the proposed method by comparison with a stationary nanofiber air cleaner. The results show that the user-tracking algorithm of the user-tracking robot was accurate, with an average absolute error in the user-to-robot distance of 4 cm. The user-tracking robot with nanofiber air cleaner outperformed the stationary nanofiber air cleaner by reducing the concentration of 0.3–0.4 μm particles in the breathing zone of the user by 16.4 %. Furthermore, compared with commercial panel-type high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filters, the use of nanofiber air filters can extend the battery service life, consequently facilitating the practical application of the moving robot.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2950362025000074Personal air cleaningNanofiber air filtersUser-tracking robotParticle filtrationIndoor air quality |
| spellingShingle | Chengzhong Deng Zhuolun Niu Chun Chen Personal air cleaning by a user-tracking robot equipped with a nanofiber air cleaner in a large work space Indoor Environments Personal air cleaning Nanofiber air filters User-tracking robot Particle filtration Indoor air quality |
| title | Personal air cleaning by a user-tracking robot equipped with a nanofiber air cleaner in a large work space |
| title_full | Personal air cleaning by a user-tracking robot equipped with a nanofiber air cleaner in a large work space |
| title_fullStr | Personal air cleaning by a user-tracking robot equipped with a nanofiber air cleaner in a large work space |
| title_full_unstemmed | Personal air cleaning by a user-tracking robot equipped with a nanofiber air cleaner in a large work space |
| title_short | Personal air cleaning by a user-tracking robot equipped with a nanofiber air cleaner in a large work space |
| title_sort | personal air cleaning by a user tracking robot equipped with a nanofiber air cleaner in a large work space |
| topic | Personal air cleaning Nanofiber air filters User-tracking robot Particle filtration Indoor air quality |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2950362025000074 |
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