Robotics for Nuclear Material Handling at LANL:Capabilities and Needs
- Los Alamos National Laboratory
- CO SCHOOL OF MINES/PMT-4
Nuclear material processing operations present numerous challenges for effective automation. Confined spaces, hazardous materials and processes, particulate contamination, radiation sources, and corrosive chemical operations are but a few of the significant hazards. However, automated systems represent a significant safety advance when deployed in place of manual tasks performed by human workers. The replacement of manual operations with automated systems has been desirable for nearly 40 years, yet only recently are automated systems becoming increasingly common for nuclear materials handling applications. This paper reviews several automation systems which are deployed or about to be deployed at Los Alamos National Laboratory for nuclear material handling operations. Highlighted are the current social and technological challenges faced in deploying automated systems into hazardous material handling environments and the opportunities for future innovations.
- Research Organization:
- Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC52-06NA25396
- OSTI ID:
- 956554
- Report Number(s):
- LA-UR-09-01157; LA-UR-09-1157; TRN: US201014%%1923
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: ASME IDETC/CIE Conference ; August 30, 2009 ; San Diego, CA
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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