Alissa Tabirian
WC Monitor
10/16/2015
The Department of Energy (DOE) is seeking university proposals for a partnership with Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) to conduct research and prototype development of nuclearized robots – technology capable of working in radioactively contaminated, hazardous areas – according to a special notice issued this week. SNL’s High Consequence Automation and Robotics (HCAR) Group, which “originated from a DOE need for unmanned radioactive waste cleanup” and develops “high consequence automated systems for critical national security applications,” plans to join university partners for projects that will fall under DOE’s fiscal 2016 “Consolidated Innovative Nuclear Research” grant opportunity led by its Idaho Field Office. The grant, which offers an estimated $56.2 million in total program funding, includes two potential university-led integrated research projects: one for nuclearized robotics for integrated mapping, and another for underwater nuclearized robotics.
The first project seeks a robotic solution to remotely maneuver within high-hazard spaces in nuclear facilities, take high-resolution video footage, collect radioactivity measurements, help determine structural integrity, and contribute data for computer simulation, according to DOE’s Office of Environmental Management (EM). The project will be applied at the Hanford Site, the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, and the Savannah River Site, in spaces with irregular surfaces, poor visibility, and high levels of radioactive contamination, an EM webinar said. The second project calls for a robotic prototype that can maneuver in water-filled areas of nuclear facilities and perform measurements, with applications at Hanford waste and Savannah River spent fuel storage facilities, according to EM. The notice calls for potential partners to express their interest by the close of business on Oct. 20, with full proposals due Dec. 3. SNL “reserves the right to support joint proposals with one, none, or more than one partner,” the notice says.
Larry Shipers, the lab’s manager of system technologies, said by telephone there is no project or active effort in place yet, and that the timeline for prototype development and the potential for applications outside of EM will depend upon the chosen partners and the proposal development process. The potential for non-EM applications for the technology, he said, “does exist if advanced robotic capabilities are developed.” The concept is “built upon existing technology,” Shipers said, and is “evolutionary and aimed at specific applications.” The difference between existing technologies and this new potential project will be in the types of environments for which they are used: “the high radiation environments, the potentially very unstructured, unknown environments that you can run into,” Shipers said.
