An intelligent inspection and survey robot. Volume 1
ARIES {number_sign}1 (Autonomous Robotic Inspection Experimental System), has been developed for the Department of Energy to survey and inspect drums containing low-level radioactive waste stored in warehouses at DOE facilities. The drums are typically stacked four high and arranged in rows with three-foot aisle widths. The robot will navigate through the aisles and perform an inspection operation, typically performed by a human operator, making decisions about the condition of the drums and maintaining a database of pertinent information about each drum. A new version of the Cybermotion series of mobile robots is the base mobile vehicle for ARIES. The new Model K3A consists of an improved and enhanced mobile platform and a new turret that will permit turning around in a three-foot aisle. Advanced sonar and lidar systems were added to improve navigation in the narrow drum aisles. Onboard computer enhancements include a VMEbus computer system running the VxWorks real-time operating system. A graphical offboard supervisory UNIX workstation is used for high-level planning, control, monitoring, and reporting. A camera positioning system (CPS) includes primitive instructions for the robot to use in referencing and positioning the payload. The CPS retracts to a more compact position when traveling in the open warehouse. During inspection, the CPS extends up to deploy inspection packages at different heights on the four-drum stacks of 55-, 85-, and 110-gallon drums. The vision inspection module performs a visual inspection of the waste drums. This system will locate and identify each drum, locate any unique visual features, characterize relevant surface features of interest and update a data-base containing the inspection data.
- Research Organization:
- South Carolina Universities Research and Education Foundation, Clemson, SC (United States). Strom Thurman Inst.
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Office of Environmental Restoration and Waste Management, Washington, DC (United States)
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC21-92MC29115
- OSTI ID:
- 491579
- Report Number(s):
- DOE/MC/29115-5658-Vol.1; ON: DE97002291; TRN: 97:012458
- Resource Relation:
- Other Information: PBD: 15 Dec 1995
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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