The Corona Cannon uses UV-C light inside a small form factor design to kill the coronavirus. (See "How it Works" below.)
UV-C sterilizers are already widely used in hospitals to sterilize rooms and equipment. Unfortunately, due to the rapid rise of coronavirus cases, suppliers haven't been able to keep up with the demands for commercial UV sterilizers. To help solve the problem, a small group of makers in Central Florida got together to design an inexpensive UV sanitizer that anyone could build.
The Corona Cannon can be built in a large number of form factors based on material availability and needs in your area. We are currently working to open source the designs, parts lists and step-by-step plans which will all be shared on this website.
In all cases, the designs strive to:
- Use materials available at Lowes, Home Depot or Amazon. (UV-C bulbs excluded)
- Offer an easy build for most makers that can be completed in less than a day.
- Cost $100 or less per unit for the basic build.
- Not require any specialized tools.
- Be simple and intuitive for hospital staff to use.
Special thanks to Fred Maxik, David Metcalf, Michael Schmidt & Carlos Carrasco from Orlando Health, Juan Santos, Lis Sampson and John Sampson for your invaluable advice and assistance on this project.
The Corona Cannon project was created by Gabriel Avram, Michael Miller and Todd Sampson. We are trying to do our small part to help. If you need help with a build, have ideas for improvements or anything else we would love to hear from you. Email Todd at tsampson@cloudspace.com and Michael at michael@cedillas.com. French and Romanian speakers please email Gabriel Avram.
Disclaimer: Everything on this site is provided “as is” without warranty or guarantee of effectiveness. A local hospital has a prototype Corona Cannon for testing, but we are still waiting for results. Be careful, the 254nm UV-C tubes used in this project are extremely dangerous! Use proper eye protection and ensure your skin is not exposed to the UV-C light at all times. Build and use at your own risk.
Featured Model
"...direct exposure to 254nm UVC radiation, given appropriate exposure time, will inactivate the DNA and RNA of microorganisms (such as bacteria, viruses, mold spores, yeast, and protozoa), rendering them "sterile" (unable to reproduce), which, in biological terms, results in a "dead" microorganism." -- American Ultraviolet
Recommended resources for additional information:
- Technical Report for UV-C-Based N95 Reuse Risk Management
- N95 Filtering Facepiece Respirator Ultraviolet Germicidal Irradiation (UVGI) Process for Decontamination and Reuse
- Effectiveness of UVC Light to Mitigate Coronavirus (COVID-19)
- Ultraviolet germicidal irradiation of influenza-contaminated N95 filtering facepiece respirators
- Room Decontamination with UV Radiation
- As Coronavirus Looms, Mask Shortage Gives Rise to Promising Approach
- Effects of Ultraviolet Germicidal Irradiation (UVGI) on N95 Respirator Filtration Performance and Structural Integrity.
- Basics of UVC
- Predicted Inactivation of Viruses of Relevance to Biodefense by Solar Radiation
- China Using UV Light to Speed Up Disinfection of Virus Germs
- N95 Re-use Strategies
- Ultraviolet-LED Maker Demonstrates 30-Second Coronavirus Kill