ROBOTICS & REMOTE TECHNOLOGY | INSPECTION
Innovation snakes its way into the core of nuclear culture
Duke Energy explains how it is embracing innovation by using drones, robots and virtual reality to improve worker safety and plant reliability
IT DOESN’T HAVE THE RING of ‘ready, set, go’ or ‘lights, camera, action’. But ‘batteries charged, motor functions validated, cameras online’, sounds like innovation in the Duke Energy nuclear fleet. After working through those quick steps, the Sarcos S remote visual inspection and surveillance
Guardian®
robot is ready for action. Whether it is needed to squeeze into small spaces like trenches or pipes, climb I-beams or other steel equipment or inspect ‘hard to access’ areas, this snake-like robot, affectionately named L-Mo (short for Linear Motorised Observer), carries sensors and payloads of up to 10lb to provide real-time detection and visual information while keeping team members out of harm’s way.
The Guardian® S robot was recently used to perform
a drainpipe inspection. The live feed captured by the Guardian S via its six 4K cameras allowed employees to inspect coatings and monitor material conditions along the 1000ft length of pipe. At the same time it marked the location of any areas of note along the way with its on- board odometer — all without employees having to stoop over or crawl through the pipe to collect the data. This project will go down as a ‘win,’ increasing safety
while reducing the time and resources needed. “Using the Guardian S robot is a safer, more efficient way to perform inspections in many work activities at our nuclear stations,” says Kevin Martin, nuclear maintenance supervisor at McGuire nuclear station. “We developed the Guardian S robot with the goal of
reducing the need to send human workers into certain spaces or environments unnecessarily,” says Kristi Martindale, chief product and marketing officer, Sarcos Robotics. “Our team is proud of this collaborative effort with Duke Energy and pleased to know the robot was able to create an even safer work environment. We look forward to continuing our relationship and identifying new ways the Guardian S robot can support Duke Energy’s workforce.” Innovation is not just about a great idea; it requires
Top: Sarcos Guardian® S is being used by Duke Energy
Above: While drones are great for open spaces, L-Mo climbs vertical magnetic surfaces and snakes into confined spaces Photo credit: Duke Energy
32 | August 2021 |
www.neimagazine.com
proper implementation to adopt innovative tools and sustain use of the tool once implementation and training are complete. Jim Louy, Duke Energy nuclear director and Guardian S team lead, says he is, “looking forward to it being second nature to pull the robot off the shelf for specific tasks.” He likens it to the previous conscious
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45
