22Nov
News
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A secure and agile technological solution for remote handling of mechanical parts that increases productivity
The aim of the Sample Preparation Laboratory at INL, which will provide irradiated materials testing capabilities in support of nuclear reactor research development, demonstration, and deployment, is to achieve a secure and agile solution that increases productivity in its operations. Currently such operations are carried out remotely (to protect the operator) with mechanical manipulators that are difficult to control, unintuitive and have limited abilities for guiding and moving parts between different spaces and tests. The team at INL has proposed an innovative robotic solution to replace this dated technology that is cost effective and has the potential to provide the operator with greater dexterity during remote operation. With the proposed system, remotely controlled electromechanical robots accurately reproduce movements of the operator’s hands, resulting in handling that is more accurate, safe and intuitive. As a consequence, it is expected that remote handling of irradiated material samples will be faster and more efficient, leading to increased operational performance.
AN AUTONOMOUS AND MANUAL SYSTEM
The novel system is designed to support both autonomous and manual operation. In the first case, the robots inside the irradiated “hot” cell can carry out automatic lift, move and place operations based on their integrated artificial-vision systems and controllers. In the second, the technician continuously guides the movements of the robot arms from the remote workstation. He or she manipulates specialised joysticks that can apply to his or her hands the same forces that the robot is applying to the objects inside the irradiated cell. This reflection of forces to the operator´s hands guarantees intuitive real-time control of the robots and of the objects being handled.
