EVALUATION OF STATE-OF-THE-ART MANIPULATORS AND REQUIREMENTS FOR DOE ROBOTICS APPLICATIONS

This report provides an overview of applications within the DOE complex which could benefit from the use of modular robotics technology during remediation operations. Each application area contains one or more specific tasks which are presently conducted by humans under hazardous conditions or which are deemed highly impractical, or are altogether impossible without automation. Five major areas were investigated for specific needs with respect to automation. Information was collected on Mixed Waste Operations, Contaminant Automated Analysis, Tanks, Decontamination and Dismantlement and Automated Plutonium Processing. During this investigation, information was gathered from available literature, telephone interviews with informed personnel and on-site visits. This data serves to provide design requirements and guidelines for the design of a family of modular actuators, which will be used to construct manipulators suited to each task. In addition, a survey of existing modular manipulator designs is presented. This survey addresses modular manipulators developed inside government labs and in universities for such applications as space exploration or controls research. It also addresses efforts at commercially viable industrial manipulators which have been built. This survey of robotic systems provides the reader with a glimpse into what technology currently exists in the way of modular manipulator automation and, to a degree, where this technology may be applicable or, more often, where these systems are unsuited to EM applications. From the information gathered during this study, it is possible to sufficiently define the requirements of one manipulator system which can be used to conduct automated transfer operations within Plutonium gloveboxes. This manipulator will be constructed from ARM Automation actuator modules and will provide this application with a viable option for automation within these gloveboxes. The design issues surrounding this manipulator and its specifications are discussed in the final portion of this report