Duct entry robots for the characterisation of Nuclear facilities

我的项目是设计一个地面机器人，以描述只有通过125毫米直径的访问端口才能访问的核设施。这项任务要求机器人通过接入端口进入或进入核设施，然后在设施内捕获传感数据并最终被移出该设施。重要的是要将机器人的污染保持在最低限度，并且使用它不会导致放射性物质的传播。出于这个原因，许多显而易见的解决方案，如无人机和履带式车辆，都被建议不要使用。一种折叠式“变形轮子”机器人目前正在开发中，在与其他设计进行评估之前，将进一步开发。机器人必须由设施外的操作员控制，该操作员不能直接看到机器人，因此将使用具有一定自动化程度的远程操作来进行表征。虽然该项目旨在研究和实施未来的技术，但核退役行业目前在其技术方法上相当保守，因此控制系统，特别是自动化将需要仔细开发，并与塞拉菲尔德的投入，以确保强大的过程和法规遵从性。在3年的过程中，该项目将包括需求和基准分析，原型和机械设计，远程操作，自动化，设计评估和用户研究。

My project is the design of a ground-based robot to characterise nuclear facilities that are only accessible through 125mm diameter access ports. The task requires for a robot to enter or be entered into a nuclear facility through an access port, before capturing sensory data inside and eventually being removed from the facility. It is important that contamination of the robot is kept to a minimum and that its use does not lead to the spread of radioactive material. For this reason, many obvious solutions such as drones and tracked vehicles have been advised against. A folding 'morphing wheg' robot is currently in development and will be further developed before being evaluated against other designs. The robot must be controlled by an operator outside of the facility who will have no direct line of sight of the robot, for this reason teleoperation with a degree of automation will be used to carry out the characterisation. While the project aims to research and implement future technologies, the Nuclear decommissioning industry is currently quite conservative in its approach to technology, consequently control systems and especially automation will need to be developed carefully and with the input of Sellafield to ensure robust processes and regulatory compliance.Over the course of the 3 years, the project will encompass the Requirements and Benchmarking analysis, Prototyping and Mechanical Design, Teleoperation, Automation, Design Evaluation and User studies.