PHOENIX - Many opportunities exist to use robotics underwater, inside nuclear facilities, and underground to advance DOE’s cleanup work, Rod Rimando, director of EM’s Office of Technology Development, said here last week during a panel discussion at this year’s Waste Management Symposium.
Thomas Nance, director of research and development engineering at EM’s Savannah River National Laboratory, gave an overview of robotics at the lab over the past year. Employees modified a crawler from 2015 to function in the Savannah River Site ’s H Canyon facility. Nance emphasized the need for people to make new technological deployments work. There are many potential future advancements, from remote inspections to remote repairs, he said.
Jason Wheeler, principal member of the research and development staff at Sandia National Laboratories, discussed how wearable robotics might be useful to DOE and its environmental cleanup. Many EM challenges have been addressed, but remaining work is complex, and environmental challenges will be difficult to address, according to Wheeler.
Unique hazards have been managed well through personal protective equipment, but internal muscular skeletal injuries are possible, Wheeler said. Deploying robots to perform tasks could reduce the risk of those injuries, he said. Exoskeletons could benefit EM in glove box work, maintenance of equipment, demolition, emergency response, and soil characterization and handling, he said.
Robotic technologies was one of the highlights at this year’s conference. Other panel sessions included the EM Robotics and Emerging Technologies Roadmap; Robotics and Emerging Technologies: Federal Agencies Engagement; and Remotely Operated Vehicles for Emergency, Disaster and Operational Upset Response.
Source: U.S. Dept. of Energy, Office of Environmental Management
