Automated open cleaning for the food industry

Adequate cleaning of equipment and premises in food production is a necessity for producing safe food. Today's cleaning is characterized by a low level of automation with few digital aids, which means that the result largely depends on the skill and experience of the performer. Unfortunately, this important work is not always highly valued. It is carried out at night and in the evenings, and the noisy and wet environment makes it difficult to retain skilled workers.

In this project, a first version of a mobile robot was created that can handle the heavy, environmentally harmful and often unhealthy part of cleaning production equipment and premises in the food industry. The robot was placed in a test bed for demonstration of project results and testing. A digital copy of the test environment, a so-called digital twin, was created. 

The digital twin is not only a digital copy of the physical environment (room and equipment), but it is where the robot's washing instructions are created, which surfaces should be cleaned and in what way. In the digital environment, you can gather knowledge about which surfaces or production situations are difficult (or easy) and use adaptive processes to optimize the consumption of water, energy and chemicals, so that cleaning uses neither too much nor too few resources to create cleanliness. The digital twin also enables programming of the robot's movements.

The most concrete result from the project was the very physical testbed, primarily the robot itself on its mobile platform, but also the environment in which it is placed. This created the conditions for future research in automated and optimized cleaning, but also a first version of what this kind of robotic solution may look like and and how it may work. The latter also facilitates further development within the area of robotics. Another important project outcome is a thorough analysis of solutions that would likely come with a product like this, such as software structures and new professional roles.

However, there are still many challenges to be faced before a solution like this has resulted in a commercial product. A lot of it is about technical development in robotics. Nevertheless, the existing testbed and digital twin already offer a structure for creating new knowledge about optimized, resource-efficient and environmentally friendly cleaning. In this area, there are hence great opportunities for further research in the near future. Another future goal is to work for the digital twin to be connected to sensors and to benefit from artificial intelligence. Hence, there are also many opportunities for research in these areas.