Project by Toru Tan, Written by Toru Tan
Image: Concept Visual Of The UV Disinfection Table Lamp (UV Light)
No one likes to touch dirty things or expose themselves to germs and bacteria. However, you might be touching more dirty things than you imagined every single day. If each dollar bill carries germs, just think about how germy your wallet must be. Your wallet probably goes everywhere with you, and it will pick up germs from all of those places. Not to mention, most people hardly put their phones down—even to use the bathroom. As a result, our cell phones are infested with a variety of bacteria and virus that can cause pneumonia, infections, food poisoning, and Covid-19.Did you know that the device glued to your hand probably contains 10 times more germs than the toilet seat in a public restroom? And to think that you put that up to your face.
This lead me thinking that how can we ensure our personal belonging like wallets and phone are clean at the end of the day when we are back to home. I found out that UV light, the type used in most common devices on the market to clean household objects, has been shown to be effective in laboratory studies at killing bacteria on computer screens, toothbrushes, and other objects. It has also been shown to affect viruses in similar ways that it affects bacteria.
That gave me an idea that we could incorporate the sterilizing technology into our household item like a table lamp. The idea was to allow the process of sterilizing to be more convenient for user. I start to do some 3D modelling and rendering to find shapes and design that can could merge the UV technology and table lamp seamlessly.
Image: Concept Visual Of The UV Disinfection Table Lamp (Warm Light)
The next step is to turn the concept into a reality. By using leftover modelling board I found in my home, I start to create the frame and structure of the design for the prototype.
Image: Basic frame of the table lamp
After the overall structure of the lamp was build up, it is time to install the circuit and lighting into the table lamp. In this case I am using an IR sensor and Arduino Nano to control the system of the lamp.This allow the table lamp to switch from warm light to UV light to sterilize when the IR sensor detect there is an item place inside the lamp.Therefore by default, it will always be in warm lights like what a normal table lamp would do.
Image: The circuit at the base of the table lamp.
With the circuit and system in place, the UV Disinfection Table Lamp is ready to be used.Feel free to watch the short video explaning the function of the lamp and watch how the lamp works in realtime!
1:1 scale UV Disinfection Table Lamp Prototype