ROBDEKON: Robotic Systems for Decontamination in Hazardous Environments

SUMMARYTo remove humans from hazardous environments “good” teleoperated robotic systems are needed. “Good” is defined here to mean a system which is task centred and which is transparent to the user-in other words, a system you can see through. A teleoperated robotic system which strives towards this goal is described by way of illustration. The fundamentals that have helped to achieve this are: design and build from a task centred viewpoint, careful design of the Human Computer Interface(HCI) and special consideration for the systems integration task.

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Cooperative and Multimodal Capabilities Enhancement in the CERNTAURO Human–Robot Interface for Hazardous and Underwater Scenarios

Applied Sciences ◽

10.3390/app10176144 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 10 (17) ◽

pp. 6144

Author(s):

Carlos Veiga Almagro ◽

Giacomo Lunghi ◽

Mario Di Castro ◽

Diego Centelles Beltran ◽

Raúl Marín Prades ◽

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Keyword(s):

Hadron Collider ◽

Nuclear Research ◽

Particle Accelerator ◽

Robotic Systems ◽

Hazardous Environments ◽

Multimodal User Interface ◽

Single Operator ◽

Single User ◽

Inspection And Maintenance ◽

Multi Robot

The use of remote robotic systems for inspection and maintenance in hazardous environments is a priority for all tasks potentially dangerous for humans. However, currently available robotic systems lack that level of usability which would allow inexperienced operators to accomplish complex tasks. Moreover, the task’s complexity increases drastically when a single operator is required to control multiple remote agents (for example, when picking up and transporting big objects). In this paper, a system allowing an operator to prepare and configure cooperative behaviours for multiple remote agents is presented. The system is part of a human–robot interface that was designed at CERN, the European Center for Nuclear Research, to perform remote interventions in its particle accelerator complex, as part of the CERNTAURO project. In this paper, the modalities of interaction with the remote robots are presented in detail. The multimodal user interface enables the user to activate assisted cooperative behaviours according to a mission plan. The multi-robot interface has been validated at CERN in its Large Hadron Collider (LHC) mockup using a team of two mobile robotic platforms, each one equipped with a robotic manipulator. Moreover, great similarities were identified between the CERNTAURO and the TWINBOT projects, which aim to create usable robotic systems for underwater manipulations. Therefore, the cooperative behaviours were validated within a multi-robot pipe transport scenario in a simulated underwater environment, experimenting more advanced vision techniques. The cooperative teleoperation can be coupled with additional assisted tools such as vision-based tracking and grasping determination of metallic objects, and communication protocols design. The results show that the cooperative behaviours enable a single user to face a robotic intervention with more than one robot in a safer way.

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Development of a novel tool for automation of the contamination measurement

Safety of Nuclear Waste Disposal ◽

10.5194/sand-1-29-2021 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 1 ◽

pp. 29-30

Author(s):

Alena Wernke ◽

Sascha Gentes

Keyword(s):

Laser Scanner ◽

Robotic Systems ◽

Nuclear Facilities ◽

Distance Measurements ◽

Radiation Level ◽

Near Surface ◽

Wall Area ◽

Laser Sensors ◽

Hazardous Environments ◽

Measurement Results

Abstract. Considering that about 100 000 m2 of wall area per nuclear facility must be decontaminated (Hübner et al., 2017), the automation of mechanical decontamination work offers high potential to support people in performing their work and reduce errors in the decommissioning process. Furthermore, the exposure potential for people in contaminated environments is reduced and they are protected from health hazards (Petereit et al., 2019). In the ROBDEKON project, a competence center is being established in Germany to develop practical robotic systems for decontamination work in hazardous environments. To this end, four research institutions are working with industrial partners on the development of (partially) autonomous robotic systems for the decommissioning and decontamination of nuclear facilities, the handling of waste, and the remediation of landfills and contaminated sites (Petereit et al., 2019). At the Institute for Technology and Management in Construction (KIT-TMB), the focus is on development of an automated solution for the (clearance) measurement of near-surface contaminations. A mobile elevating working platform is used as the robotic platform with a contamination array as the tool. The array measures the surface activity on the wall areas and verifies compliance with the thresholds. The contamination array is based on two sensor concepts: measurement and localization. Up to four hand-held contamination-measuring devices are attached to the array to parallelize the measurement. In order to avoid damaging the sensitive detector window foil of the contamination probes, the wall surface to be measured is first examined for imperfections with the help of a laser scanner. For localization of the array, up to four laser sensors are used for distance measurements. Measurement results are automatically saved after each measurement in a table specific to the measurement method and are available to users for documentation purposes at any time. In the further course of the project, the measurement results depending on the radiation level will be overlaid with a geometric 3D environment mapping.

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