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Robotsfornuclearpowerplantsby Taylor Moore

Odex, a walking robot with multiple potential uses. (Credit: Odetics).

In the USA, robotics technology used at the TMI-2 cleanup and at other nuclear plantshas prompted interest and shaped research on how robots might best be used

Once c o n f i n e d to t h e - pages of sciencef i c t i o n , robots h.ive d r a m a t i c a l l y c a p t u r e dt h e a t t e n t i o n o f t h e p u b l i c a n d t h e i n d u s -t r i a l b u si n es s c o m m u n i t y i n r e c e n t y e a r s .M a n y observers v i e w r o b o t s as a h a l l -m a r k o f neoindustrialization, b r e a t h i n gr e n e w e d e c o n o m i c v i g o r an d c o m -p e t i t i ve n e s s i n t o depressed i n d u s t r i e st h r o u g h i m p r o v e d p r o d u c t i v i t y a n dreduced labor cos ts .A t t h e s a m e t i m e , h o w e v e r , w o r k e r so f t e n respond w i t h a p p r e h e n s i o n t o t hem e n t a l i m a g e o t a ro bo t p e r f o r m i n g atask th a t fo rm er ly requi red a h u m a n .T h e s o ci al i m p l i c a t i o n s of the robot-i / a t i o n o f A m e r i c a n i n d u s t r y w i l l s u r e l yb e c o m e o f m o r e c o n c e r n to w o r k e r s ,m a n a g e r s , an d p o l i c y m a k e r s a l i k e asm o r e robots e n t e r t h e i n d u s t r i a l w o r k -place.

A c c o r d in g t o t he R o b o t i c s I n d u s t r i e sA s s o c i a t i o n , o n l y f > 3 ( ) ( ) robo ts had beend e l i ve r e d i n t he U n i t e d S t a t e s b y t heend o f 1983; m ost o f t ho s e had been in -

s ta l led since 1976. But the forc e o f t e c h -n o l o g i c c ha n g e a n d t he p r e s s u r e o li n t e r n a t i o n a l e c o n o m i c c o m p e t i t i o np r o m i s e an acce le ra ted pace o f robo td e p l o y m e n t i n t h e y e ar s a h e a d . S o m ee x p e r t s p re d i c t t ha t a s m a n y a s 1 0 ( 1 0 00robo ts m ay be a t wo rk in t h i s c o u n t r yby 1 9 9 0 o n e - t e n t h of the t o t a l n u m b e rp r o j e c t e d w o r l d w i d e .

F o r m o s t i n d u s t r i e s i n w h i c h r o b o t shave been or are e x p e c t e d to be a p p l i e din s i g n i f i c a n t n u m b e r s , s u c h as a u t o -m o b i l e p r o d u c t i o n , m e t a l w o r k in g , an dm a c hi n e ry m a n u f a c t u re , t h e i ncen t ivest o r o b o t i z e r e l a t e d i r e c t l y t o p r e s e r v i n go r r e c a p t u r i n g c o m p e t i t i v e a d v a n t a g et h r o u g h l o w e r e d u n i t costs o f p r o d u c -t i on a n d i m p r o ve d p r o d u c t q u a l i t y . B u tfo r s o m e i n d u s t r i e s , t he a t t r a c t i o n o f ro -bots i s t h e i r p o t e n t i a l t o w o r k i n h a / a r d -o u s e n v i r o n m e n t s , t h e re b y r e d u c i n g th eh u m a n r i sks assoc iated w i th the w ork .

The e l ec t r i c u t i l i t y i n d u s t r y i s o n es u c h i n d u s t ry . A l t h o u g h u t i l i t i e s are no t

v i e w e d by m o s t industrial r ob ot m a n u -f a c t u r e r s as a s i g n i f i c a n t p o t e n t i a l m a r -k e t , s p e c i a l - a p p l i c a t i o n robots are u n d e rd e v e l o p m e n t f o r p e r f o r m i n g i n s p e c t i o na n d m a i n t e n a n c e t a sk s i n s i d e n u c l e a rp o w e r p l a n t s , w h e r e r a d i a t i o n l e ve l s ,he a t , a n d h u m i d i t y e i t h e r r u l e o u tth e presence o f h u m a n w o r k ers o rsevere ly l i m i t t h e i r a b i l i t y to w o r k . F o rm a n y o f these t a s k s in a n u c l e a r p l a n t ,r o bo t s w o u l d b e a w e l c o m e a d d i t i o nt o t he w o r k f o r c e , f re e i n g h u m a n s f roms o m e o f t h e m o r e o n e r o u s an d d i s c o m -for t ing jobs and, possibly, p e r m i t t i n gcer ta in tasks to be p e r f o r m e d w h i l e ap l a n t r e m a i n s o n - l in e , t h u s a v o i d i n gcost ly p l a n t d o w n t i m e t o r i n s pe c t i o n o rm a i n t e n a n c e .

S o m e o f t he r o b o t s u n d e r d e ve l o p -m e n t f o r u t i l i t y a p p l i c a t i o n s r e p re s e n tthe s ta te o f the ar t o f robo t i cs en gin ee r -ing , and the re la ted research e f f o r t sc o u l d p i o n e e r a d v a n c e s t h a t have broadappl i ca t i on to o t h e r i n d u s t r i e s . E P K I

M r M o o r e is on the staff of the EPRI Journal , f rom w h i c h t h i s ar t ic le i s r e p r i n t e d . EP RI is the E l e c t r i c P ower Research I n s t i t u t e in theU S A , P.O. B o x 1 0 4 1 2 , P a l o A l t o , Cal i fo rn ia 9 4 3 0 3 . E P R I t e c hn i c a l c o n t r i b u t o rs to the ar t i c l e were F loyd Gelhaus . M i c h a e l Kolar .T h o m a s L a w , A d r i a n R o b e r t s , an d R . K . W i n k l e b l a c k .IAEA BULLETIN, AUTUMN 1985 31

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Nuclear power an d electronicshas several current projects aimed atevaluating the technical and economicpotential f o r robot applications in u t i l i t yoperations and at translating the under-standing gained f r o m these e f f o r t s tothe u t i l i t y professionals who have worka p l e n t y waiting for robots that provere l iable an d cost-effective.

Such research is necessarily longrange. The robotics industry, fewer than2 0 years o l d b y t h e broadest d e f i n i t i o n ,r e m a i n s in i t s i n f a n c y , awaiting sub-s t a n t i a l t e c h n i c a l advances i n visionsystems, m i n i a t u r i z at i o n , and computercontrols before t r u l y economic, versa-t i l e , and powerful robots are common-place items o f commerce. B u t R & Dsuccess with robots in recent years sug-gests that such machines w i l l emergef ro m the laboratories and enter thecommercial market before this decadei s over. EPRl's research in robotic appli-cations, at least in part, is intended toensure that when that day arrives, u t i l -i t i es w i l l have a clear underst anding o fthe work robots can do for them andwhether it makes economic sense toput them to work.Robots for nuclear plants

The use of remotely operated andr o b o t l i k e equipment to protect nuclearworkers in high-radiation areas is notnew. John Taylor, an E P R I vice presi-dent and director of the Nuclear PowerD i v i s i o n , divides robotic equipment inn u c l e a r applications into two broad cat-egories: single-purpose devices withl i m i t e d a b i l i t y to perform d i f f e r e n t o p -erations, and reprogrammable, m u l t i -purpose robots with some degree ofcomputer-based a r t i f i c ia l intelligence.

"I t h i n k the f irs t category has reacheda reasonable l e v e l o f maturity," saysT a y l o r A t E P R I ' s Nondestructive E v a l u -a t i o n (NDE) Center and among reactorm a n u f a c t u r e rs , nuclear service con-t r a c t o r s , and some u t i l i t i e s , these typeso f devices are in use today for suchtasks as pipe cutting, welding, steamgenerator tube inspection and repair,and u l t r a s o n i c scanning of pipe sectionsfo r crack detection. "These deviceshave proved to be absolutely essential;we simply could not get some jobsdone without them," adds Taylor.

Robots in the second category, thosew i t h s u f f i c i e n t computer-based i n t e l -ligence to support a variety o f applica-tions, "have a long way to go," inTaylor's words, before they can dem-onstrate s i g n i f i c a n t p r a c t i c a l b e n e f i t inn u c l e a r plant operations. But, a s Taylor

adds, such robots are under develop-ment, and their initial trials are ex-pected to provide val uable insight tot h e i r u l t i m a t e potential.

Soon a f t e r remote manipulator armswere developed for use in hot cells andf u e l reprocessing activities, an armmounted on a transporter w i t h camerasand lights made i ts debut in the 1950sa t the government's Hanford nuclearfaci l i t y in Washington State. Developedb y Westinghouse Hanford Co., the re-motely controlled transporter vehiclew as dubbed Louie a f t e r a technicianscrawled the nickname on the robot'sarm. Louie has proved to be a versat ileand long-lived workhorse and is s t i l l inuse today.

Some f u n d a m e n t a l aspects of howt h i s equipment is applied distinguishrobotic equipment f o r nuclear pla ntapplications f ro m th e more widely f a -m i l i a r i n d u s t r i a l robotsthose f i xeddevices that typically are employed forpick-and-place operations or otherhighly repetitive tasks.

In many i n d u s t r i a l applications o frobots, the objective is to replace humanworkers with machines that are moreproductive, e f f i c i e n t , a n d accurate. B u tfo r nuclear applications, th e objective isnot so much to replace workers as it isto extend their presencefor example,to project their reach into areas of a nu-c l e a r plant where the thermal or radia-t i o n environment prohibits o r l i m i t s ahuman presence.

"In contrast to most robotic appli-cations, we want to keep man in theloop, rather than replace him, to ob-serve the work, make decisions, andc o n t r o l t h e robot," according t o R . K .W i n k l e bl a c k , an E P R I project managerin t h e Nuclear Power Division. "Strictlyspeaking, the devices we are looking ata re remote-controlled equipment, nott r u e robots," adds W i n k l e b l ac kImproving availability

The economic m o t i v a t i o n to use robotsf o r n u c l e a r plant inspection a n d m a i n -t e n a n c e is centered on their potentialfo r improving plant a v a i l a b i l i t y ; a b y -product i s t h e potential f o r reducingthe occupational radiation exposure( O R E ) o f plant personnel.

M a n y inspection and maintenancet a s k s can only be done when the re-actor is shut down because radiationl e v e l s under operating conditions wouldb e t o o high even fo r humans f u l l y out-f i t t e d in protective clothing.These jobsare u s u a l l y deferred u n t i l scheduled re -

f u e l i n g outages to minimize plant down-time. They thus can become part of thecri t ical path of activity needed to bringthe plant back into service.

Delays are cr i t i ca l to plant a v a i l a b i l -i t y , as well as costly Purchased replace-ment power to substitute for the outputof a 1000-MW|e reactor costs an aver-age of $500 000 a day. Robots poten-t i a l l y could contribute to improvedp l a n t a v a i l a b i l i t y b y avoiding delays inscheduled outages and handling somet a s k s w h i l e the reactor is operating.

N u c l e a r workers are currently limitedby f e d e r a l regulation to no more than 3rem per quarter-year or an annual t o t a lo f 5 rem* This means that f o r manyroutine jobs large numbers of workersmust be assigned a small portion o fthe work because each w i l l q u i c k l yreach the ORE l i m i t and must then bere s t r i c te d to n o n r a d i a t i o n areas u n t i lt h e next quarter. Consequently, u t i l i t i e sa re forced to employ s i g n i f i c a n t num-bers of transient workers, or so-calledjumperstemporary personnel whomove on to other jobs a f t e r receivingt h e O R E l i m i t .

According to a Nuclear RegulatoryCommission (NRC) estimate, everym a n - re m of personnel exposure has av a l u e t o u t i l i t i e s o f $1000, alt houghsome utilities assign a value of as muchas $5000 a man-rem. Some types ofw o r k , such as health physics surveysan d inspection o f primary reactor cool-i n g systems, can involve radiationf i e l d s o f several hundred rads an hour.

U t i l i t i e s m ay face even tougher O R El i m i t s in t h e f u t u r e . I n addition to guide-l i n e s that cal l o n u t i l i t i e s to reduceO R E s to levels "as low as reasonablyachievable," NRC for several years hasbeen studyin g proposals to reduce theO R E standards; such a developmentc o u l d have a m u l t i p l i c a t i v e e f f e c t o nu t i l i t y costs f o r personnel exposure.Feasibility studied

E P R I a n d N R C have both sponsoredp r e l i m i n a r y assessments of the poten-t ia l f o r applying robotics i n nuclearpower plants. NRC, motivated p r i m a r -il y b y t h e o b j e c t i v e o f reducing person-n e l radiation doses, looked mainly ats u r v e i l l a n c e and inspection tasks in astudy performed by Remote Technology* In international usage, the rem has beenre p lac e d by the sievert in accordance w i thr e c o m m e n d a t i o n s o f th e InternationalO r g a n i z a ti o n f o r Standardization. O n esievert corresponds to 100 rem.

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Nuclear power and electronicsC orp . E P R I ' s a na l ys i s , condu c ted byBat t e l l e , C ol u m b u s L a b orator i es, fo -cu sed o n m a in ten a nce a c t iv i t i e s a nda t t e m p t e d to i d e n t i f y poten t i a l avai l -abi l i ty i m p r o v e m e n t s , as w e l l as oppor -t un i t i e s t o r edu ce ra d ia t i on ex posu re .

Each s t u d y a t t e m p t e d t o q u a n t i f y th ecost i n O R E an d m a n - h o u r s o f a va r i e t yof jobs th a t a robot system m ight be ca-pa bl e o f per form ing ; the costs w e r et h e n c o m p a r e d w i t h those of the robotan d i ts associa ted support s y s t e m s an dpersonne l

S ur v e i l l an c e a nd inspec t ion ta sk se v a l ua t e d i n t h e NR C s t u d y r a n g e f romde tec t i on o f steam o r wa ter l ea k s , verif i-ca t ion o f va l ve pos i t i ons , an d rea d ingo f gages to m e a s u r e m e n t o f ra d ia t i onlevels in c o m p o n e n t s a n d v a ri o u s m e t h -o d s o f s am p l i n g t o d e t e ct c o n t a m i n a -t i o n . T he E P R I s t u d y s u r v e y e d 2 2 t a s k st h a t a r e p e r f o r m e d r o u t i n e l y o r d u r i n gr efue l i ng , i n c l u d i n g c o n t r o l ro d d r i v em a i n t e n a n c e , s t ea m genera tor tu b erepair , and repair o r r e p l a c e m e n t o fva r iou s pu m ps a nd va l ves .

A l t h o u g h the scope of a c t iv i t i e s a na -l y ze d w e r e d i f f e r e n t , b oth s tu d i es con-c l u ded the re w ere po te n t i a l l y s ign i -f i c a n t n e t pos i t i ve econom ic b ene f i t s o fa p p l y i n g robots in n u c l e a r p l a n t s T h eNR C s tu dy , b a sed o n a p p l i c a t i o n o f acos t -bene f i t m e t h o d o l o g y t o tw o e x i st -i n g p l a n t s , c o n c l u d e d t h a t c o m m e r c i a l l yavai lab le rob o t i c t echno l ogy ca n b eretrof i t ted i n to ex i s t i ng p l a n t s an d w i l lredu ce b o th ra d i a t i on ex posu re tow o r k e r s a n d p l a n t o p e r a t i n g costs.T h e N R C s t u d y c a u t i o n e d , h o w e v e r ,t h a t b e n e f i t s c an d i f f e r s i g n i f i c a n t l ya m on g p l a n t s b ecau se o f d i s s i m i l a r d e -sign factors an d opera t ing h i s to r i es .T h e repor t encou ra ges u t i l i t i e s to per-form plant-speci f ic cost-benef i t ana l -yses , i n c l u d i n g c o n s i d e r a t i o n of al lcosts of personnel entry into radia t ionareas, to d e t e r m i n e w h e t h e r roboticappl ica t ions for such in spect ions aree c o n o m i c a l .

In th e Bat te l l e s tu dy fo r E P R I , poten -tial m a in tena n ce a pp l i ca t i ons werescreened to iden t i f y ca nd id a te t a sk sc o m m o n t o m a n y n u c l e a r p l a n t s th a ta ccou n t for a s ignif icant share of m a i n -tenance costs and are a m e n a b l e to per-f o r m an c e w i t h i n the l im i t s o f cu r ren trobot ic technology. Fol low-on cost-benef i t a na l yses were per form ed for theappl icat ion of robots to reactor cavi tyc l ea n ing , hea l th phys i cs su rveys , a ndf lange u n b o l t i n g / r e b o l t i n g . Despite thea m e n a b i l i t y of these tasks to currentrobotic t e chno l ogy , i t wa s conc l u ded

t h a t n o n e cou l d be per form ed robot-ically wi tho u t fu r the r t echno l ogy d e -ve l opm en t .U s i n g t h e n e t presen t v a l u e m e t h o d ,Battel le researchers f o u n d t ha t robotsfo r reactor cavi ty c leanup an d m a i n -tenance bol t ing act ivi t ies would pa yback i n l e ss tha n one yea r , wh i l e hea l thphysics survey appl ica t ions would pa yback in a b ou t t h ree years. The resu l tswere then t e st ed w i th a ra nge o f va l u esfo r ou ta ge t im e a nd ra d ia t i on ex posu recosts.

E v e n w i t h the lowest va lues ($700pe r m a n- rem ex posu re an d $300 000 ad ay outage t ime costs) , robot iza t ion ofm a in tena nce b o l t i ng wou l d pa y b a ckin s l igh t l y m ore th a n o n e yea r , wh i l ehea l th phys i cs su rvey ta sk s wou l d re -quire less than f o u r years to pay back ,t h e st u d y f o u n d . O v e r a l l , t h e s t u d y i n -dicated cost savings ranging f rom$100 000 to $1 m i l l i o n in net presen tvalue pe r robot , wi th th e pu rcha seprice for each robot projected a t un de r$200 000.

A n im por ta n t ca vea t no ted b y theBat t e l l e researchers , how ever , is thel i m i t e d avai labi l i ty o f c o m m e r c i a l ro -b oti c eq u ipm en t gea red speci f i ca l l y ton uc l e ar a pp l i ca t i ons . Beca u se the nu -clear i nd u s t ry has no t b een a m a j o rm a r k e t f o r r o bo t m a n u f a c t u r e r s , th ebusiness has gen era l l y b een l e f t tos m a l l e r e n t r e p r e n e u r i a l f i r m s t ha t c ana da p t rob o t ic eq u ipm en t fo r l o w - v o l u m eappl icat ions .T h e n u c l e a r i n d u s t r y t h u s needssom e wa y to f u n d t hese d e v e l o p m e n t so r t o a t t ra c t en t reprene u rs w ho a rew i l l i n g to f inanc ia l ly she l t e r th e tech-n o l o g y d u r i n g it s d e m o n s t r at i o n p h a se ,the s tu dy po in t s ou t . Th i s i s in con t ra s tto the si tua t ion in Japan, w h e r e a coop-era tive r e l a t i o nsh ip b e tween u t i l i t i e sa nd vendors ha s l ed to a m ore u n i f i edapproachPrototype development

The core of EP RI 's research in robot icsis its part ic ipa t ion in th e d e v e l o p m e n tand test ing of severa l prototype robotsys t em s tha t cou l d be f o r e r u n n e r s o fc o m m e r c i a l l y a va i l a b l e m a c h i n e s S o m eof these robots could be used as trans-por t veh i c l es to carry other robot iceq u ipm en t , su ch a s a f l a nge un bo l t e ror a s t ea m gen era tor tu b e - repa i r rob o t,i n to a h igh- ra d ia t i o n a rea , se t u p thes m a l l e r dev ice a t work , a nd then m on-i tor i ts act ivi ty. S o m e , o n t h e o t h e rh a n d , m a y be less ca pa bl e o f do ing de -m a n d i n g labor , but cou ld be used as in-

t e l l igen t m a s t e r robots , con t ro l l i ng thew o r k of s tronger dron es.Severa l robot prototypes ar e m a k i n gt h e i r deb u t in t h e recovery an d c l e a n u pof t he da m a ged T h r e e Mi l e I s l a nd U n i t2 nu c l ea r p l a n t in P e n n s y l v a n i a , th e siteof a M arch 1979 loss-of-coolant accid entt ha t d e s tr o y e d m u c h of the reactor corean d l e f t la rge areas of the rea c tor con-t a i n m e n t bui lding inaccessib le to hu-m a n s . R e m o t e i n s p e c t i o n h as s h o w nradiat ion f i e lds as high as 3000 rad/h insom e a rea s of the c o n t a i n m e n t . *

A c c o r d i n g t o Ad r ia n Rob ert s , a sen iorprogram m a n a g e r in E P R I 's N u c l e a rPow er Division and m anager of i tsTM I - 2 i n f o r m a t i o n an d e x a m i n a t i o nprogra m , th e TM I c l e a n u p e f fo r t h asb ecom e a pa r t i cu l a r l y st rong spu r to ro-botic e q u i p m e n t d e v e lo p m e n t . " A t TM Iwe have a cha l lenge for robot ics tha t ishere a nd now , s o m e of the jobs s i m p l yca n ' t be d o n e o t h e r t h a n r e m o t e l y . A n db ecau se w e ca n ' t wa i t f o r the u l t im a terobot , we' re t a k ing a dva n ta ge o f workfrom a n u m b e r o f areas t o d e v e l o probots tha t wi l l get the jobs done. I frobots are s h o w n to be feasible for cer-tain jobs at TMI , they can be a pp l i ed ato ther nu c l ea r p l an t s . "Robots , in fact , ha ve been t r ied a tvarious t imes a t T M I since th e a cc iden t .In A ugu st 1982 , a 25-lb (11-kg), r e m o t e l y -con t ro l l ed , t ra ck ed , t a n k l i k e v e h i c l esuppl ied b y D O E an d ca l l ed SISI ( fo rsys t em in - se rv i ce i nspec t ion) w as usedto pho togra ph a nd ob ta in ra d ia t i onrea d ings i n a rea s su r rou nd ing th ep l a n t ' s wa te r m a k e u p a nd pu r i f i ca t i o nsys t em . T h e wa ter sys t em 's fi l ters ar eh i g h l y con ta m ina ted w i th f i s s ion p rod-u c t s from t he p r im a ry core co o l ing sys-t em . The fo l l ow ing spr ing , a s ix - whee lrem ote l y - con t ro l l ed dev i ce du b b ed Fredw as o u t f i t t e d w i t h a h igh- pressu rew a t e r spray an d used to d e c o n t a m i n a t eth e w a l l s an d f loor o f a p u m p cu b ic l e inth e aux i l i a ry b u i l d in g b a sem en t . F redw e i g h s in at 400 Ib (181 kg); it s m e c h a n -i c a l arm can l i f t 150 I b (68 kg) and ex-t end to a he igh t of 6 f t (1.8 m ).

T h e venera b l e L ou ie from W e s ti n g-h o u s e H a n f o r d h as been b r o u g h t toTM I to per form ra d io l og ic cha ra c te r -i zat ion d u r i n g d e c o n t a m i n a t i o n of thew a t e r pur i f i ca t ion s y s t e m . O f f i c i a l l yk n o w n as the r e m o t e l y c o n t r o l l e d t r a n s -por t e r veh i c l e , L ou ie w i l l be u sed tom o n i t o r ra d ia t i on l eve l s a s the d e m i n -* In in tern a t iona l usage, th e rad has beenreplaced by the gray. O n e gray cor respondsto 100 rad.

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Robots atTMI-2Cleanup and reco very work at the damaged TMI 2 reactor in P ennsylvania presents a unique challenge for the app lication ofrobotics technology . Two remotely op erated manipulators called Fred and SIS I have already seen service in surveil lance anddecontamination tasks. Th e RRV, nicknamed Rove r, has been assigned the job of inspecting the contaminated basement ofthe reactor containment building. A remote scabbling machine has been developed to rem ove contam inated layers f romconcrete floors. Louie, spec ially modified for the TM I wo rk , is slated to monitor radiation levels as the plant demineralizertank is decontam inated. Rosa, a versatile remote manipulator arm , has been proposed to lend a hand in defuelling the TM I 2reactor core.

Rosa(core detuel ingi

Remote scabbier(decontaminat ion) Fred(decontaminat ion!

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Nuc lear power a nd electronicseral i /er rvsins in the w a t e r sys tem an1f lushed nut. I hough the robot's near lyKXXl - lb (454 -kg ) lifting s t reng th willnot be needed in this operation, itsradiation-hardened television cameraswill get a workout near the demineral-i/er tank, which has a contact readingot 3000 rad/h.

Perhaps th e most ambitious ef for t toda te to app lv robot ics in the I'Ml clean-up has been the EPRI-SUpported devel-o p m e n t by Carnegie-Mellon Univer-s i ty ' s (CMU's) Civil Fngineering and( . ons t ruc t i on Robot ics Laboratory ot theremote reconna issance veh i c le ( K R V ) toprobe th e basement ol th e reac tor con-t a i nmen t building. The basement level,where no human has entered in overfive years, rema ins highly contami-nated with th e rad ioact i ve sludge leftt rom some 600,000 gal lons (2270 m 1)of water, including primary coolingwater , most ol which ha s since beenpumped out.

The R K V , nicknamed Rover by GI'UNuc lear Corp., th e operating utility a tI'MI. has been ass igned the t a sk of en-tering th e dark a nd damp basement bvcrane hoist, inspecting th e scene withit s three television cameras , a nd sur-vwing the area radiologically withsevera l on-board detection instruments.

Th e s i x -whee l , 1000-lb KRV, devel-oped in a cooperativeef for t involv-ing EPRI, CMU, C,PU Nuclear, DOE,and the Hen l-'ranklin Partnership inPennsylvania, was designed by CMU'sWil l iam Whittaker, a n ass i s tan t pro-fessor of civil engineering a nd directoro f th e robotics laboratory. It features aninnovat ive on-board umbilical reelingsys tem designed to permit th e vehicleto negot iate obstac les without draggingth e umbilical. A sta in less s teel f r amemoun ted atop th e transporter basecarries th e umbilical reel, cameras ,monitoring instruments, and controlsystems. Th e vehicle ha s also been de-signed fo r quick decontamination w i t hwater sprav af ter it is removed tromwork areas.

A two-person crew controls t he RKVf rom a ionsole equipped with televisionmonitors that is located a safe distancea w a y from th e ha/ardous area (a t TMI,this distance is over 500 ft. or 150 m);on e person steers th e cra f t and manipu-lates th e cameras while th e other oper-ates the umbilical reel learns of oper-ators practiced maneuvering t he RK Vfo r several months along an improvisedobstacle course in the ad j acen t turbinebuilding (the staging area for much

IRIS - for Industrial Remote Inspection system s a general-purpose robot forhazardous environments. (Credit: EPRI)

of the cleanup work) in preparationfo r lowering it into th e containmentbasement.The RR V is the f i rs t of three similarremote vehic les to be developed underthe joint TMI recovery program. An im-portant feature of the design is that th ef rame mounted on the chassis can beremoved and other equipment addedto th e transporter. Th e second RRVbase vehicle, modified by 1'entek, Inc.,HPKI's site cont rac tor a t TMI, is out-f i t t ed with a pneumatically poweredscabb l ing machine and vacuum systemfo r removing the contaminated toplayer of concrete from floors in par tsot th e reac tor building.

A third R R V remains a t CMUs robot-ic s laboratory for future developmenteffor ts. Other t a sk s proposed fo r futuremodifications of the prototype RRV in-clude collection of liquid and sludgesamples from th e containment base-ment , collection of concrete core sam-ples from the floor and walls, and someminor structural dismantling.

"At TMI the interest is in workingvehicles with high strength, reliability,and mobility," explains Whittaker, theR R V ' s designer. "The challenges at TMIare very physical and active, and theequipment tha t will meet those chal-lenges will be similarly physical andact ive. But there is certainly no one

machine that will do it all, so we arelooking at the evolution of a family ofthese things. One mode might be afully configured R R V t o supervise th eact i v i t y of a drone tha t would earn'tools only. Another possibility is a min-iature version of the RRV tha t wouldoperate radio-remote from the mothership."

Clearly, robotic equipment is provingto be a va luable tool in the TMI recov-er y effort . Other applications of robotsat the site are also planned. A manipu-l a to r a rm built bv Westinghouse Electr icC o. a nd known as Rosa (for remotelyopera ted service arm) ha s been pro-posed for us e in the defueling of the1 Ml reac tor core, tenta t ively plannedfo r next year. Rosa, which can alsooperate underwater, is already knownamong some utilities operating pressur-ized water reactors for its ability to auto-mat ical ly inspect and repair steam gen-erator tubes after it is mounted on thesteam generator by service personnel.Waiting in the wings

In addition to the robots tha t have beendeployed at TMI, EPRI is evaluatingtw o other prototype devices tha t couldprove useful in nuclear plant environ-ments . These machines could becomecousins of the TMI machines in the ro-bot family that Whittaker envisions.

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Nuclear power and electronicsO n e o f t hese , p rodu ced by A d v a n c e d

R e s o u r c e D e v e l o p m e n t ( A R D ) C o r p . ,is k nown a s a n i ndu s t r i a l r em ote i n -spect ion system (IRIS). Designed as agenera l -purpose survei l lance an d inspec-t ion robot fo r h a z a r d o u s e n v i r o n m e n t s ,IRIS i s a r e l a t ive l y sm a l l (com pa red wi ththe RR V ) b a t te ry - pow ered , t rack edt ra nspor t e r tha t can be e q u i p p e d w i t hoptical, a u d io , an d en v i ro n m en ta l sen-sors ; m a n ipu l a to rs ; an d c o m m u n i c a -t i ons an d con t ro l su b sys tem s .

The 200-lb (91-kg) IRIS f ea tu res au n i q u e h i g h - f r e q u e n c y w i r e le s s c o m -m u n i c a t i o n sys t em , spec i f i ca l l y d e -signed to opera te in an e n v i r o n m e n tc l u t t e r e d with physica l barr iers , as wel las w i t h s igna l i n t e r f e rence , wh ich al -l ows i t g rea te r m ob i l i t y a nd ra nge tha nmost robots developed to d a t e . A te le-scop ing a rm a nd a th ree - d im ens iona lt e l ev is ion sys tem w i th z oom l ens an dm i c r o p h o n e s m o u n t e d o n a pa n- t i l t pa db r ing the cu r ren t pa y l oa d to 7 0 Ib (3 2kg) . Even tua l l y , IRIS wi l l c o n t a i n s o m el i m i t e d on- b oa rd i n t e l l igence , ena b l in git to re trace it s steps b a ck wa rd evenif n o r m a l c o n t ro l s ig n a ls ar e lost o rb l ock ed b y i n t e r f e rence .Accord ing to F l oyd G e l ha u s , an E P R Iprogram m a n a g e r w h o i s e v a l u a t i n gIRIS an d other robots fo r p o t e n t i a l n u -clear appl ica t ions , the c u r r e n t A R Ddev ice h as b een des igned s t r i c t l y asa rem ote su rve i l l a nce veh ic l e . " I t s abil-ity to do robust tasks is l im i t ed , " sa ysG e l h a u s , "but th e m o b i l i t y an d u n t e t h -e re d c o n f i g u r a t i o n of the t ransporter ,w i t h it s abil i ty to ca r ry va r io u s pa y-l o a d s, m a k e it a v a l u a b l e m e m b e r of arobot ics s t a f f . "G e l h a u s p l a ns to ha ve t e chn ic ia ns a tE P R I ' s N DE C e n t e r pu t IRIS t h r o u g h i tspaces b e fore t a k ing the rob o t i n t o a re-c e n t l y c o n s t r u c te d , n o n r a d i o a c t i v e p l a n te n v i r o n m e n t . D u k e P o w e r C o . h a s agreedto hos t the t e s t i ng ac t ivi t i e s at it s n e wC a t a w b a n u c l e a r u n i t . T h e f i n a l step w i l lb e to t e s t a nd e va l u a te the dev i ce in ano p e r a t in g p l a n t .

G e l h a u s is a lso considering possib leappl icat ions for w h a t is probably th em os t a dva nced rob o t deve l oped sof a r a s ix -l egged , f r ee - wa l k ing m a ch in ek n o w n as O d e x . T h e Odex pro to type ,bui l t by O d e t ic s , I nc . , "rep resen t s a re-m a r k a b l e b rea k throu gh in i t s s t r eng th -t o - w e i gh t ra ti o , " c o m m e n t s G e l h a u s ,as i t c an l i f t m o r e t h a n f ive and a halft i m e s it s 370-lb (168-kg) w e i g h t . A l m o s tan y other robot c an h e f t l i t t l e m o r et h a n o n e - t w e n t i e t h of i t s w e i g h t . "W i t ht h a t k i n d o f power , t he re are a lot of

poten t i a l appl ica t ions ," a d d s G e l h a u s .Ode t i cs has dem ons t ra t ed Odex o nv ideo ta pe a rou nd th e cou n t ry , i nc l u d -in g scenes of i t l i f t i ng the end of a c o m -pac t p i ck u p t ru ck .Because each of Od ex ' s a r t i cu l a to rs ,o r legs, uses i t s own 'microprocessor ,w i t h a seven th com pu te r coord ina t ingoveral l m o v e m e n t , c o m p l e x m a n e u v e r sare possible u n d e r th e contro l of eitheran opera tor o r a rem ote com pu te r . T h em a ch ine ca n p i rou e t t e 3 60 wh i l e s im u l -ta neou s l y a dva nc ing in a ny d i rec t i on .I ts jo inte d legs perm it i t to assum e sixdist inct prof i les , ranging from a na rrowstance fo r negot ia t ing t ight d o o rs to al ow sq u a t . Odex i s ou t f i t t ed w i th tw inTV ca m era s fo r v isu a l t ransm iss ion ." O d e x is a break through in the s ta teof the ar t , " says Gelhaus , "but i t wi l lt a k e som e care fu l resea rch to de f ineappl icat ions for it in a nu c l ea r p l a n t . "EPRI 's work wi th Ode t i cs has led toconcep tu a l des ign m od i f i ca t i ons tha twil l ena b l e Odex to nego t ia t e a powerplant 's in terna l obstacle course.Future development

Technologica l ly , Odex may be c lose toth e f u l l y a u tono m ou s , i n t e l l igen t robo tt h a t resea rchers sa y wou l d represen tt h e u l t i m a t e m a rr i ag e be t w e e n m a c h i n eau t o m at i o n an d t h e d e v e l o p i n g field o fartificial i n t e l l igence It s abi l i ty t o m a-n e u v e r a rou nd or over ob s ta c l es u nderthe gu ida nce o f a r em o te o pera tor a p -proaches the l eve l of com pu te r con t ro lintegra t ion t h a t wi l l be n e e d e d i f a robotis to be capable o f a u t o n o m o u s l y re -spond in g to a p rogra m m ed se t o f d i rec -t ions by r e f e r e n c i n g a se l f - con ta inedd a t a base for it s l oca t ion , des t i na t i on ,rou te , a nd tasks.C o n s u m m a t in g t h e u n i o n b et w e e nrobots an d a r t i f i c i a l i n t e l l i g e n c e is along-range research goa l , however , be -ca u se the cha l l enges i nvo l v e a dv a nc ingth e f ron t i e rs o f c o m p u te r m o d e l i n g ofsol id geo m etry , as wel l as the s truc-t u r i n g o f l a rg e am o u n t s o f c o m p u t e rd a t a fo r logical access by the robot.Var ious mi l i tary an d n o n m i l i t a r y re -sea rch p rogra m s a rou nd the cou n t rya re n o w f o c u s i n g o n t h e m a t h e m a t i c a la nd co m pu te r sc i ence aspec t s tha t wi l le v e n t ua l l y b e b rou gh t t o bea r on th i sc h a l l e n g e . T h e mi l i t a ry program s arelargely f u n d e d b y t he Offi ce o f N a v a lResearch and the D e f e n s e A d v a n c e dResearch Pro j ec t s A gency . O thers , i n -c l u d ing program s a t S ta n ford U n ive r -sity , P u r d u e U n i v e r s i t y , t h e U n i v e r s i t yof M i c h i g a n , th e M a ssachu se t t s I ns t i -

t u t e o f T e c h no l o gy , a n d C M U , i n v o l v en o n m i l i t a r y a s we l l a s m i l i t a ry - re l a t edR&D.

I rving O p p e n h e i m , an associate pro-fessor of civil eng ineer ing at C M U , isw o r k i n g w i t h E P R I o n s o m e aspects o fthe prob lem in a research project to as-sess th e p o t e n t i a l fo r a p p l y i n g artificialin te l l igence in robots fo r c o n s t r u c t i o nan d m a in tena nce work . T he Japaneseal ready m a k e s ign i f i can t us e o f a u t o -m ade devices for vario us tasks in con-s t ru c t ion , b u t , in genera l , these devicesare not the sm a r t t ype . T w o e l e m e n t sthat ar e n e e d e d to m a k e ro b ot s a u t o n o -m o u s , a c c o r d i n g to O p p e n h e i m , are theability t o l og i ca ll y de t ec t a nd a vo idobstacles and a way of m o d e l i n g th et h r e e - d i m e n s i o n a l w o r k e n v i r o n m e n t o fthe robot so t h a t it s " w o r l d m a p " c anbe re f e renced as it proceeds on an as-signed task ."There"are s o m e a t t e m p t s at them a t h e m a t i c s t h a t w i l l perm i t a robo t t of ind a c o n f i g u r a t i o n t h a t a v o i d s an ob-stacle , and we are w o r k i n g w i t h the ex -i s ti ng ones , t e s t i ng them ou t , f i n d i n gthe i r shor t com ings , a nd m o d i f y i n gt hem to a c c o m p l i s h s om e of the ob-jec t ives t ha t these ob s ta c l e a vo ida n cecapabil i t ies ar e going to h av e , " say sO p p e n h e i m . " F o r e x a m p l e , we' re test-in g w h e t h e r a con t ro l a l gor i thm c anfigure ou t how to com m a nd a rob o t t oreach around two pipes , then reach ina nd tou ch a th i rd pipe."

Progress in th e second area of re-sea rchprov id ing the rob o t w i th a naccurate , t h re e - d i m e n s i o n a l m o d e l o fit s w o r k e n v i r o n m e n t c o u l d s o m e -day lead to a robot 's direct use of theoriginal a nd a s - b u i l t des ign dra w ingsof an en t i r e nu c l ea r p l a n t E x p l a i n sO p p e n h e i m . "There m u s t b e a d a t as t r uc t u r e , a c o m p u t e r p r o g ra m , t h a ts to res al l t he p l a n t d im ens ion s , t hewal l openings, sol id areas , p ipes , in ter-sect ions , an d s o o n ."There are two a p p r o a c h e s to t h i sprob l em . One i s t o b u i l d a rob o t t h a th as sensors a l l over i t a nd s im p l y k e e p si t e y e s an d ears o p e n an d d o e s n ' t t ou cha n y t h i n g . The o ther wa y is to s o m e h o wm a k e use of a l l the d i m e n s i o n a l d a tat ha t ha ve al rea dy b een recorded a ndare on d r a w i n g s an d c o m p u t e r - a i d e ddes ign sys t em s . W e ar e e x p l o r i n g th ek i n d o f c o m p u t e r d a ta s t r u c t u r e t h a t isbest su i ted to the p r o b l e m . "

D esign ing nu c l e a r p l a n t s w i th rob o tsin m i n d is a no ther a rea in w h i c h E P R Iha s sponsored resea rch . M a ny o f thed i f f icu l t ies i n v o l v e d in u s i n g a robot to-

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This radio controlled robot called " K l u g e "was designed for surveillance and to carrydifferent types of equipment. (Credit:Cybernation Inc.)

"Herman" is a mobile manipulator at theOak Ridge, Tennessee Y 1 2 plant used asa stand-by system to work in toxic orradioactive environments. (Credit:Martin Marietta Energy Systems, Inc.)

Robotic evolution

ISIS, developed by Hispano Suiza, isbeing used at France's Chinon A 3 reactorfo r repairs. (Credit: Hispano Suiza)

Al though th e robot ics indus t ry i tself is l e s s than tw odecades old, the technology ca n broadly claim old andd is tan t relatives f r om mus i ca l statuettes to mechan i ca lman ipu la tors and programmable machines a round thewor ld .

Ear ly Greeks , Egypt ians , Eth iop ians , and Chinese, fo rexample, crea ted a var ie ty of moving f igures tha t werepowered by water and steam. La te r , in the 18th and early19th cen tu r ies , Sw iss cra f tsmen bui l t l i f e - l i ke "au toma ta "tha t cou ld wr i te , draw , and p lay mus ica l i ns t ruments ; andthe French developed m echanica l looms cont ro l led bypunched cards, i n t roduc ing th e f i r s t programmable mach ine.

The term "robot" i tsel f , however , was not w ide lyused until 1921, when the play Rossum's Universal Robotsopened in London. Wr i t te n by Czechos lovak ian d ra ma t i s tKa re l Capek , th e p lay popula r i zed th e der iva t ive of theC zech robota, w h i c h means fo rced abourer .

Today the def ini t ion of the word "robot" i l lus t ratesboth rap id techno log ica l advances and modern expecta-t ions. In the U S A, the Ro bot ics Industr ies Assoc ia t iondef ines a robot as a " reprogrammable mul t i funct iona lmanipu la tor designed to m ove ma ter ia l , parts, tools, orspecia l ized devices through variable programmed mot ionsfor the p e r f o rma nce of a var ie ty of t a s k s " . In Japan,c lass i f i ca t ions are used: M1 are simple tele-operatedmanipulators; M2A are devices that can be programmedto do f i xed repet i t ions; M2 B a re those tha t ca n per formvariable repet i t ions ; M3A are more soph is t i ca ted devicesthat can be taught a sequence of steps by an ope ra to r

leading them through th e mot i ons ; MSB are robots tha tca n be numerical ly controlled with a computer; and,ul t ima tely, M4 a re robots having "art i f ic ia l intel l igence"that are capable of fu l l y autonomous opera t ion.

Today th e techno logy general ly is considered to beat the M3 stage, with research and development wel l intothe M4 level. Computer "chips", sensors, te levis ioncameras, and other e lec t ron ic devices are fue l l i ng th eevo lu t ion. Econom ics , however , w i l l d i c ta te th e ex ten tof fu ture app l i ca t ions , experts say .

In the nuclear industry, mechanica l cranes and mani -pulators used in the early days of development are amongth e forerunners of today 's more advanced remo tesystems and robotic technologies. One of the f irst robotsfo r pract i ca l use was developed in 1958 by Hughes A i r c ra f tto handle radioact ive materia ls a t nuclear f ac i l i t i es in the U S A .

Some i nd i ca t ions of how far the techno logy ha s comein the nuclear i ndus t ry em erged at an i n t e rna t i ona l seminarlast year convened o in t l y by the I A E A and the NuclearEnergy Agency of the Organisa t ion fo r Economic C o-operat ion and Developm ent. More than 2 00 par t i c ipantsexchanged i n format ion deta i l i ng th e advances in electro-nics, opt ica l /v isual systems, and mater ia l techno logy tha thave combined to enable innova t ions and improvements .(Proceedings of the Seminar on Remote Hand/ ing inNuc lear Facil ities now are available f rom th e O E C D ,2 rue Andre-Pasca l , 7 5 7 7 5 Paris, Cedex 16, France.)Photos on these pages show some robot ic systems inus e today.

In format ion for th is ar t ic le i s drawn f rom " Indus t r ia l Robots on the Line", by Robert Ayres and Steve Mil ler, Techno logyReview ( Ma y / June 1982) , and f rom an ar t i c le by T. Moore in E P RI Journal (November 1984) .Surveyor can be used to monitor radiation,listen for steam leaks, and read gauges.(Credit: Automa t i on Technologies, Inc.)

A robot manipulator for use in Japan'sreprocessing plants and radioactivewaste facil it ies. (Credit: PNC, Japan)The MF3. developed by CMS Technologies,Inc., in the F R G , ha s been used at nuclearplants over the past 10 years. (Credi t : EPRI)

IAEA BULLETIN, AUTUMN 1985 3 7

8/9/2019 Robot for Nuclear Power Plant

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Nuclear power and electronicsd ay s t em f rom th e fac t t h a t t h e p l a n t sw e r e n o t b u i l t w i t h su c h d e v i c e s inm i n d ; a dva nced rea c tor p l a n t s o f thef u t u r e w i l l l i k e l y ha ve spec ia l f ea tu resspec i f ica l ly to a c c o m m o d a t e s u r ve i l -l a n c e o r m a i n t e n a n c e ro b o ts .

U n d e r an E P R I c o n t r ac t , W e s ti n g -h o u se 's A d v a n c e d E n e r g y S y s t e m sDivis ion s t u d i e d th e feas ib i l i ty o f u s i n grob o ts in a l a rge - sca l e p ro to ty pe b reed erreactor. T h e a n a l y s i s c o n s i d e r e d v a r i o u sr o u t i n e a n d n o n r o u t i n e m a i n t e n a n c ean d i n s p e c t i o n t a s k s an d o u t l i n e d d e -sign fac tor s tha t c o u l d e n h a n c e the ap-pl icab i l i ty o f rob o ts These i n c l u de p ro -vis ion o f a d e q u a t e wp,rk an d accessareas , l i g h t i n g an d power ou t l e t s , an dl oca t ion o f e q u i p m e n t an d o t h e r p o t e n -tial o b s t r u c t i o n s .

A s m ore spec ia l - pu rpose rob o ts ared e v e l o p e d f o r - n u c l e a r a p p l i c a t i o n s , t h ejo b o f t e c h n i c a l l y e v a l u a t i n g these d e -vices w i t h u t i l i t y r e q u i r e m e n t s i n m i n dwi l l a l so g row . E P R I ' s N D E C e n t e r m ayt a k e o n e x p a n d e d r e s p o n s i bi l i t ie s int h i s r e g a r d , h a v i n g a l r e a d y p a r t i c i p a t e din the t echn ica l e v a l u a t i o n o f IRIS .Breaking new ground

Directed R & D e f f o r t s an d t h e i m m e d i -at e n e e d s in n u c l e a r p o w e r p l a n t s fo r

r e d u c e d m a i n t e n a n c e c o st s an d l o w e ro c c up a t i o n a l ra d ia t i on ex posu re ar eb r e ak i n g n e w g r o u n d i n t h e a p p l ic a t i o nof rob o ts t o ta sk s w i th wh ic h m os t peo-p l e w o u l d r a t h e r not be b u r d e n e d . De -spi te th e s igni f i cant a c h i e v e m e n t s toda te , however , r esea rchers c a u t i o n t h a tm u c h m ore p rogress m u s t b e m a de b e -fore robots are ser iously considered asre l iable , econom ic too l s . The en t ry o frob o ts i n to the na t ion ' s nu c l ea r p l a n t swi l l n o t occu r ra p id l y , but a t r end ini ndu s t ry t h i n k i n g t o w a r d a p p l y i n g ro -botic e q u i p m e n t w h e n a n d w h e r e it isfeasible is a l rea d y c l ea r.

M i c ha e l Kolar , u n t i l r e c e n t l y an E P R Isen ior p r o g ra m m a n a g e r w h o w a s in -volved in the I ns t i tu t e ' s s tu dy o f robot icap p l i c a t i o n s s ince th e e f f o r t began in1981, ref lects th e m i x e d v i e w p o i n tsa m o n g m a n y r e s e ar c h e rs in the f ie ld ." There i s som e rob o t i c t echno l ogyt ha t wil l l e t you do ce r ta in job s , b u t it'snot at al l c l ea r t h a t y o u ' l l se e m a n y o ft h e se m a c h i n e s i n w i d e u se i n the nea rf u t u r e , " sa ys Kolar . "There are s igni-f ican t u n r e s o l v e d u n c e r t a i n t ie s , r e l at i n gn o t o n l y t o t h e t e c h n o l o g y ' s h a r d w a r ea nd so f twa re bu t also to o ther issues.W i l l th e t i m e r e q u i r e d to t ra in c rewsan d e x e c u t e a jo b w i t h robots be shor tenou gh to b e practical? Tha t ' s no t ye t

clear. N R C m a y d e c i d e t o r e g u l at e s o m easpects o f p l a n t m a i n t e n a n c e , a nd therole o f robots in l i c en s ing issu es hasn o t y e t b e e n d e f i n e d .

" U l t i m a t e l y it wi l l al l c o m e d o w n toe c o n o m i c s a r e r o bo t s t r u l y cost-benef ic ia l ?" a sk s Kolar . " U n l ess thecosts o f r o b o t s y s t e m s c o m e d o w n , o rs o m e o n e of fe rs t o p rov ide them a s pa r tof a service package, I d o n ' t t h i n k w e ' l ls ee w id esprea d u se o f soph i s t i ca ted ro -bots soon. For E P R I , the issue is to en-sure t ha t good t echno l ogy ge t s i n to thep l an t s . B u t f irst , w e h a v e to f i nd o u tw h a t t h e se m a c h i n e s can do. I f we su c -ceed , rob o ts j u s t m i g h t m a k e i t . "

Ut i l i t i es are ex press ing inc rea s ing in -terest in robots fo r n u c l e a r p l a n t ap-p l icat ions , and as a r e s u l t , t he R& Dc o m m u n i t y a n d t h e r o b o t i n d u s t r y a r er e s p o n d i n g w i t h a ra nge o f d e v i c e s an dm a c h i n e capabi l i t i e s T h e c u r r e n t ac t iv-it y represen t s a m o d e l o f coopera t iveresearch, w i t h b oth l a rge a nd sm a l lc o m p a n ie s , u n i v e r s i t i e s, g o v e r n m e n t ,an d i n d u s t r y resea rch g rou ps work ingt o g e t h e r to a d v a n c e th e t e c h n o l o g y . I frecent success is an y i n d i c a t i o n of thef u t u r e , th e o u t l o o k fo r robots to m a k e as igni f i cant c o n t r i b u t i o n to i m p r o v e dp l an t e c o n o m i c s is e n c o u r a g i n g .

For further reading . . .Evaluation o f Robotic Inspection Systems a t Nuclear Power Plants, prepared for US Nuc lear Regu la tory C ommiss ion byRemote Technology Corp., NUREG/CR-3 717 (Mar ch 1984 ) .Automated Nuclear Plant Maintenance, f inal report for RP2232-1, prepared by Battel le, Columbus Laborator ies, 505 K in gAvenue, Columbus, Ohio 43201 (1985).

"I ndust r ia l Remote Inspec tion S ystem" , by E.B. S i lverman , Proceed ings of the Robotics and Remote Handl ing in HostileEnvironments, National Topical Meet ing, Am erican Nuclear S ociety (1984) .

38 IAEA BULLETIN, AUTUMN 1985