ROBOTICS | NDE & INSPECTION, DIAGNOSTICS & ROBOTICS


safety fencing. On a nuclear site, that could translate to robots conducting inspections and measurements without disrupting people on site conducting normal operations. Collaborative robots typically sacrifice speed and


payload, when compared to traditional industrial robots, but may have features that enable intuitive operation and programming. Safety devices can also be paired to robots to allow easier collaboration or cooperation between humans and robots. For example, safety scanners can be programmed to limit the speed of a robot when someone enters a warning zone and stop it if someone enters a danger zone. Translating these technologies into practical applications is a useful way to see how robots can improve safety and productivity in different ways. The following are examples of how our robotics team is exploring multiple applications.


Robotic data collection Data collection is increasingly important for nuclear sites, both for safe operation and to inform applications, from performance monitoring to predictive maintenance and the development of digital twins. These data include radiological measurements, image acquisition and 3D scans, tasks that robots could do instead of humans. There are two main benefits to this. First it reduces risk,


as it avoids sending people into hazardous areas. If data needs to be collected in an uncharacterised environment, it is far safer to send a robot in first to assess risks and plan further activities properly. Second, even in characterised environments, routine surveys still have to be conducted. In that case, robots can help get data at pre-programmed times and locations, so people can focus on what to do with the data, boosting productivity as well as safety. A great example is Spot, from Boston Dynamics. Spot is a quadrupedal robot that can be used as a platform to deploy instruments such as cameras, 3D scanners and gamma monitors. It can navigate through unstructured environments, over obstacles and up or down stairs, and it is equipped with an arm to open doors and pick up or drag objects, enabling remote data collection across different sites and challenging environments.


Remote operations: augmentation Operating a robot remotely may be the best solution for situations where full automation is not possible. Robots can augment people, so work can be done safely and more efficiently.


In the UK, we are removing hands from glovebox


operations by developing a remote-controlled robotic system. Robot arms can be deployed through the existing ports of the gloveboxes (where the minimum inner diameter of the port is 150mm), keeping people away from harm. For this application, the Kinova Gen3 collaborative arm is equipped with tools such as grippers, angle grinders, screw drivers and plasma cutters to perform the glovebox tasks effectively, and can be programmed to avoid interferences with the glovebox and its content. Selecting and installing a robot is only a small part of


solving the problem. Operating a robot remotely requires a combination of intuitive user interface, sophisticated robot control, low-latency communication and sensors, to provide the operator with all the required information such as cameras, scanners and haptic feedback. In this


instance, tools and technologies can be leveraged such as gaming engines for visualisation and user interface, the robot operating system (ROS) in our software back-end, 3D cameras to capture the robot’s environment and virtual reality (VR) to develop an immersive and intuitive user experience.


Developing these kinds of solutions creates a replicable


approach that can be adapted to other applications. The focus here is adapting existing robots and established technology to create new, nuclear-specific functionality faster and more efficiently than researching and developing new robotics for the sector.


Industrial operations: automation There are also applications where we can take standard industrial robots and design automated process around them, such as handling alpha-contaminated gloveboxes or managing decommissioned waste. In the latter we can sort waste according to its radioactivity level to optimise storage and generate cost savings, using an industrial robot with a sophisticated vision system and software and pairing it with standard characterisation instruments.


Accelerating the journey towards robotics To truly realise the potential of robotics and create robust solutions, we must avoid re-inventing the wheel and working in isolation. We need to maximise the lessons learned from technologies that have been developed by other industries and adapt them to solve nuclear-specific challenges. We act as a systems integrator, partnering with


manufacturers and suppliers from the robotics industries to identify opportunities to adapt and enhance existing technology to meet nuclear’s specific requirements. This kind of collaboration bridges the gap between academia and the industry: it feeds-in those specific requirements, enables experimentation and focuses research and development efforts on those areas or use-cases where new technologies are required. The nuclear industry is a challenging environment to implement robots, but it has a high potential opportunities and rewards. Unlocking those benefits can truly transform our sector. ■


Above: Development of five finger grippers for robotic glovebox operations www.neimagazine.com | April 2022 | 31


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