Robotics for Nuclear Environments

该计划的愿景是实现机器人和自主系统（RAS）能力的阶段性变化，这是克服未来几十年核工业面临的关键挑战所必需的。核工业面临的RAS挑战是极其苛刻和复杂的。许多核设施，特别是遗留设施，呈现出高度散乱和不确定的环境。此外，这些“高后果”环境可能含有放射性、化学、热和其他危害。为了尽量减少污染和辐射路径的风险，许多核设施都有非常小的访问端口（直径150毫米至250毫米），这阻止了大型机器人系统的部署。小型机器人在动力、传感、通信和处理能力方面存在固有的局限性，这些问题尚未得到解决。厚厚的混凝土墙意味着通信带宽可能会受到严重限制，这就需要提高自治水平。抓取和操作挑战，以及相关的计算机视觉和感知挑战是深刻的；必须对各种各样的遗留废料进行分类、分离，并经常进行破坏（切割或剪切）。一些材料，如塑料布、被污染的防护服/手套/呼吸器、绳索、链条等，可能会变形，并经常出现混乱的自闭塞堆。甚至已知的刚性物体（如燃料棒外壳）也可能部分可见或破碎。由于废物的物质特性、剂量率和储存废物的设施的布局可能都是不确定的，琐碎的任务就变得复杂起来。因此，任何机器人解决方案都必须能够对不确定性做出强有力的反应。污染风险使问题进一步复杂化，这通常意味着一旦部署，人类与机器人的互动最多将受到限制，因此自主性和容错性很重要。核工业对RAS的需求遍及整个燃料循环：反应堆操作；新建反应堆；退役和废物储存以及本方案将解决所有这些领域的一般问题。预计这项研究将对机器人技术的许多其他领域产生重大影响：例如空间、海底、采矿、拆弹和保健，并将采取跨部门举措，以确保这些部门之间的知识和技术双向转让，这些部门与核工业有许多共同的挑战。这项工作将建立在三个学术组织的机器人和核工程专业知识的基础上，他们都参与了相关领域的尖端国际领先研究。这一专业知识将得到国家核实验室的工业和技术转让经验和专业知识的补充，国家核实验室在成功向核工业提供创新方面有着良好的记录。该方案的合作伙伴将共同努力开发新的RAS相关技术（硬件和软件），并交付以核为重点的示范产品，以说明该方案的成功成果。因此，我们将为核供应链和最终用户提供在核部门应用RAS的信心。为了开发适用于核工业的RAS技术，合作伙伴必须与核供应链密切合作。为了实现这一目标，该项目将设在英国大部分核工业的中心坎布里亚郡西部。该方案将与各学术机构母校的研究人员合作，建立一条明确的管道，推动从第一阶段的早期研究到第三/四阶段的工业相关技术。利用西坎布里亚郡已经建立的机制，这项技术可以通过TRL 9和商业部署。

The vision for this Programme is to deliver the step changes in Robotics and Autonomous Systems (RAS) capability that are necessary to overcome crucial challenges facing the nuclear industry in the coming decades. The RAS challenges faced in the nuclear industry are extremely demanding and complex. Many nuclear installations, particularly the legacy facilities, present highly unstructured and uncertain environments. Additionally, these "high consequence" environments may contain radiological, chemical, thermal and other hazards. To minimise risks of contamination and radiological shine paths, many nuclear facilities have very small access ports (150 mm - 250 mm diameter), which prevent large robotic systems being deployed. Smaller robots have inherent limitations with power, sensing, communications and processing power, which remain unsolved. Thick concrete walls mean that communication bandwidths may be severely limited, necessitating increased levels of autonomy. Grasping and manipulation challenges, and the associated computer vision and perception challenges are profound; a huge variety of legacy waste materials must be sorted, segregated, and often also disrupted (cut or sheared). Some materials, such as plastic sheeting, contaminated suits/gloves/respirators, ropes, chains can be deformed and often present as chaotic self-occluding piles. Even known rigid objects (e.g. fuel rod casings) may present as partially visible or fragmented. Trivial tasks are complicated by the fact that the material properties of the waste, the dose rates and the layout of the facility within which the waste is stored may all be uncertain. It is therefore vital that any robotic solution be capable of robustly responding to uncertainties. The problems are compounded further by contamination risks, which typically mean that once deployed, human interaction with the robot will be limited at best, autonomy and fault tolerance are therefore important. The need for RAS in the nuclear industry is spread across the entire fuel cycle: reactor operations; new build reactors; decommissioning and waste storage and this Programme will address generic problems across all these areas. It is anticipated that the research will have a significant impact on many other areas of robotics: space, sub-sea, mining, bomb-disposal and health care, for example and cross sector initiatives will be pursued to ensure that there is a two-way transfer of knowledge and technology between these sectors, which have many challenges in common with the nuclear industry.The work will build on the robotics and nuclear engineering expertise available within the three academic organisations, who are each involved in cutting-edge, internationally leading research in relevant areas. This expertise will be complemented by the industrial and technology transfer experience and expertise of the National Nuclear Laboratory who have a proven track record of successfully delivering innovation in to the nuclear industry. The partners in the Programme will work jointly to develop new RAS related technologies (hardware and software), with delivery of nuclear focused demonstrators that will illustrate the successful outcomes of the Programme. Thus we will provide the nuclear supply chain and end-users with the confidence to apply RAS in the nuclear sector. To develop RAS technology that is suitable for the nuclear industry, it is essential that the partners work closely with the nuclear supply chain. To achieve this, the Programme will be based in west Cumbria, the centre of much of the UK's nuclear industry. Working with researchers at the home campuses of the academic institutions, the Programme will create a clear pipeline that propels early stage research from TRL 1 through to industrially relevant technology at TRL 3/4. Utilising the established mechanisms already available in west Cumbria, this technology can then be taken through to TRL 9 and commercial deployment.