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Introduction
The U.S. Department of Energy has provided support to four universities and the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in order to pursue research leading to the development and deployment of advanced robotic systems capable of performing tasks that are hazardous to humans, that generate significant occupational radiation exposure, and/or whose execution times can be reduced if performed by an automated system. The goal was to develop a generation of advanced robotic systems capable of economically performing surveillance, maintenance, and repair tasks in nuclear facilities and other hazardous environments.
The approach to achieving the program objective was a transition from teleoperation to the capability of autonomous operation within three successive generations of robotic systems. The robotic system will always have the capability to request human assistance. The development of general purpose robots to perform skilled labor tasks in restricted environments was shown to have extensive payback in areas of energy systems (nuclear and fossil units), chemical plants, fire fighting, space operations, underwater activities, defense, and other hazardous activities.
The strategy that was used to achieve the program goals in an efficient and timely manner consisted in utilizing, and advancing where required, state-of-the-art robotics technology through close interaction between the universities and the manufacturers and operators of nuclear power plants. The research effort showed that a broad range of applications for the robotic systems existed for the improved operation of nuclear reactors and in other hazardous tasks. As a consequence, each institution was able to obtain additional support from other agencies, e.g., DoD and NASA. Areas of cooperation with other nations (e.g., Japan, France, Germany) were utilized.
This program featured a unique teaming arrangement among the Universities of Florida, Michigan, Tennessee, Texas, and the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and their industrial partners, Combustion Engineering, Odetics, Gulf State Utilities, Florida Power and Light Company, Remotec, and Telerobotics International. Each of the universities and ORNL had ongoing activities and corresponding facilities in areas of R&D related to robotics. This program was designed to take full advantage of a balance of these existing resources at the participating institutions (see Figures 1, 2,).
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