Robotic Exploration of an Unknown Nuclear Environment Using Radiation Informed Autonomous Navigation

Keir Groves; Emili Hernandez; Andrew West; Thomas Wright; Barry Lennox

doi:10.3390/robotics10020078

Robotic Exploration of an Unknown Nuclear Environment Using Radiation Informed Autonomous Navigation

Robotics ◽

10.3390/robotics10020078 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 10 (2) ◽

pp. 78

Author(s):

Keir Groves ◽

Emili Hernandez ◽

Andrew West ◽

Thomas Wright ◽

Barry Lennox

Keyword(s):

Gamma Radiation ◽

Autonomous Navigation ◽

Radiation Detector ◽

Nuclear Industry ◽

Real Problem ◽

Ground Vehicle ◽

Nuclear Disaster ◽

Software Algorithms ◽

Mission Success ◽

Radiation Avoidance

This paper describes a novel autonomous ground vehicle that is designed for exploring unknown environments which contain sources of ionising radiation, such as might be found in a nuclear disaster site or a legacy nuclear facility. While exploring the environment, it is important that the robot avoids radiation hot spots to minimise breakdowns. Broken down robots present a real problem: they not only cause the mission to fail but they can block access routes for future missions. Until now, such robots have had no autonomous gamma radiation avoidance capabilities. New software algorithms are presented that allow radiation measurements to be converted into a format in which they can be integrated into the robot’s navigation system so that it can actively avoid receiving a high radiation dose during a mission. An unmanned ground vehicle was fitted with a gamma radiation detector and an autonomous navigation package that included the new radiation avoidance software. The full system was evaluated experimentally in a complex semi-structured environment that contained two radiation sources. In the experiment, the robot successfully identified both sources and avoided areas that were found to have high levels of radiation while navigating between user defined waypoints. This advancement in the stateoftheart has the potential to deliver real benefit to the nuclear industry, in terms of both increased chance of mission success and reduction of the reliance on human operatives to perform tasks in dangerous radiation environments.

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Architecting “Maintenance Program” for Piping and Pipe Support

Volume 1: Plant Operations, Maintenance, Engineering, Modifications, Life Cycle and Balance of Plant; Nuclear Fuel and Materials; Radiation Protection and Nuclear Technology Applications ◽

10.1115/icone21-16674 ◽

2013 ◽

Author(s):

Koichi Tsumori ◽

Yoshizumi Fukuhara ◽

Hiroyuki Terunuma ◽

Koji Yamamoto ◽

Satoshi Momiyama

Keyword(s):

Nuclear Power ◽

Power Plants ◽

Nuclear Industry ◽

Maintenance Management ◽

3D Cad ◽

Cad System ◽

Nuclear Disaster ◽

Safety Regulations ◽

Maintenance Program

A new inspection standard that enhanced quality of operating /maintenance management of the nuclear power plant was introduced in 2009. After the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster (Mar. 11th 2011), the situation surrounding the nuclear industry has dramatically changed, and the requirement for maintenance management of nuclear power plants is pushed for more stringent nuclear safety regulations. The new inspection standard requires enhancing equipment maintenance. It is necessary to enhance maintenance of not only equipment but also piping and pipe support. In this paper, we built the methodology for enhancing maintenance plan by rationalizing and visualizing of piping and pipe support based on the “Maintenance Program” in cooperating with 3D-CAD system.

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Analysis of humanoid robotics for nuclear disaster management incorporated with biomechanics

Nuclear Technology and Radiation Protection ◽

10.2298/ntrp181228027w ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 34 (3) ◽

pp. 291-298

Author(s):

Kyung Jang ◽

Tae Woo

Keyword(s):

Reactor Core ◽

Nuclear Industry ◽

Severe Accident ◽

Physical Aspect ◽

Multidisciplinary Research ◽

Nuclear Disaster ◽

Collapsed Building ◽

Very High ◽

Mechanical Studies

The humanoid is investigated for the mechanical and physical aspect in the nuclear disaster, especially for a severe accident, which includes the core melting. There are some mechanical studies of the leg and hand of the humanoid in which the human mimicking features are described. The management of the task is accomplished by the three regional preparations. The robot is made of the radiation-resistance substance. Therefore, it could work on the normal task of a human for the removal of the broken debris in a collapsed building. However, there is a limitation for the use in the reactor core building due to very high temperature of the nuclear fuel. The regional classification of the site is studied for the practical purposes. The post-accident analysis is accompanied with multidisciplinary research for the humanoid development in the nuclear industry.

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Adaptive Filtering on GPS-Aided MEMS-IMU for Optimal Estimation of Ground Vehicle Trajectory

Sensors ◽

10.3390/s19245357 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 19 (24) ◽

pp. 5357 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Haseeb Ahmed ◽

Ihsan Ullah ◽

Uzair Khan ◽

Muhammad Bilal Qureshi ◽

Sajjad Manzoor ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Kalman Filter ◽

Autonomous Navigation ◽

Inertial Sensors ◽

Low Cost ◽

Optimal Estimation ◽

Cost Effective ◽

Estimation Accuracy ◽

Ground Vehicle ◽

Navigation Data ◽

Mems Imu

Fusion of the Global Positioning System (GPS) and Inertial Navigation System (INS) for navigation of ground vehicles is an extensively researched topic for military and civilian applications. Micro-electro-mechanical-systems-based inertial measurement units (MEMS-IMU) are being widely used in numerous commercial applications due to their low cost; however, they are characterized by relatively poor accuracy when compared with more expensive counterparts. With a sudden boom in research and development of autonomous navigation technology for consumer vehicles, the need to enhance estimation accuracy and reliability has become critical, while aiming to deliver a cost-effective solution. Optimal fusion of commercially available, low-cost MEMS-IMU and the GPS may provide one such solution. Different variants of the Kalman filter have been proposed and implemented for integration of the GPS and the INS. This paper proposes a framework for the fusion of adaptive Kalman filters, based on Sage-Husa and strong tracking filtering algorithms, implemented on MEMS-IMU and the GPS for the case of a ground vehicle. The error models of the inertial sensors have also been implemented to achieve reliable and accurate estimations. Simulations have been carried out on actual navigation data from a test vehicle. Measurements were obtained using commercially available GPS receiver and MEMS-IMU. The solution was shown to enhance navigation accuracy when compared to conventional Kalman filter.

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Application of microwave motion sensors in navigation systems for ground vehicle

ITM Web of Conferences ◽

10.1051/itmconf/20193012004 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 30 ◽

pp. 12004 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Dmitrii Khablov

Keyword(s):

Navigation System ◽

Autonomous Navigation ◽

Velocity Vector ◽

Continuous Measurement ◽

Navigation Systems ◽

Motion Sensors ◽

Ground Vehicle ◽

Cumulative Error ◽

System A ◽

Transport Management

Effective land transport management in a controlled and unmanned mode is impossible without its accurate and continuous positioning. The paper discusses the possibility of increasing this accuracy in the absence or uncertain reception of signals from satellites of the global navigation system. Moreover, the use of an additional self-navigation inertial system to solve this problem in this case is not justified for reasons of accuracy and cost. Therefore, as an alternative autonomous navigation system, a solution based on radar Doppler sensors of modular type is proposed. The methods of measuring the velocity vector and the algorithm of direct continuous measurement of displacements are considered. It is shown that the latter measurement option can significantly reduce the cumulative error when positioning vehicles.

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Inflammatory profile dysregulation in nuclear workers occupationally exposed to low-dose gamma radiation

Journal of Radiation Research ◽

10.1093/jrr/rrz059 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 60 (6) ◽

pp. 768-779 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Nevena Aneva ◽

Elena Zaharieva ◽

Olya Katsarska ◽

Gergana Savova ◽

Katia Stankova ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Gamma Radiation ◽

Blood Plasma ◽

Antioxidant Status ◽

Colorimetric Assay ◽

Nuclear Industry ◽

Tissue Response ◽

Common Denominator ◽

Monocyte Chemoattractant Protein 1 ◽

Wide Range ◽

Occupationally Exposed

ABSTRACT Chronic inflammation is a common denominator linking a wide range of health conditions, including tissue response to radiation exposure. This pilot study investigates whether inflammatory cytokines—interleukins IL-6, −8, −10, monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) and tumor necrosis factor α (TNFα)—can be used as early biomarkers of radiation-induced adverse health effects in occupationally exposed individuals. The study included 33 workers externally exposed to gamma radiation from the nuclear industry with cumulated doses from 0.11 to 190 mSv and 42 non-exposed controls of comparable age and socio-economic status. IL-6, IL-8, MCP-1, TNFα and IL-10 were analyzed by enzyme-linked assay (ELISA) in blood plasma samples. Total antioxidant status (TAS) of blood plasma was determined by a colorimetric assay. The radiation-exposed and control groups measured significantly different levels of MCP-1, TNFα and IL-10. Seventy-five percent of radiation workers had either high MCP-1 levels or low IL-10 levels and 30% had all three cytokines dysregulated. Approximately 50% of workers showed upregulated antioxidant status, which appeared to compensate the pro-inflammatory cytokine shift in these individuals. In contrast, only 2% of the control subjects were found to have three dysregulated cytokines, and all of them measured within the normal TAS range. The present study may represent an important step towards the establishment of a reliable set of biomarkers for health-risk estimation in population cohorts exposed to low radiation doses.

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