Modular Robots for Enabling Operations in Unstructured Extreme Environments. (30th January 2022)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Sayed, Mohammed E.; Roberts, Jamie O.; Donaldson, Karen; Mahon, Stephen T.; Iqbal, Faiz; Li, Boyang; Franco Aixela, Santiago; Mastorakis, Georgios; Jonasson, Emil T.; Nemitz, Markus P.; Bernardini, Sara; Stokes, Adam A.
• Is Part Of: Advanced intelligent systems. Volume 4:Number 5(2022)
• Page Start: n/a
• Page End: n/a
• Publication Date: 2022-01-30
• Subjects: connect-R -- extreme environments -- industrial robots -- modular systems -- nuclear decommissioning -- scaffolding systems -- task planning -- unstructured environments; Artificial intelligence -- Periodicals; Robotics -- Periodicals; Control theory -- Periodicals; 006.3
• DOI: 10.1002/aisy.202000227
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2640-4567

Abstract

Abstract : Operations in extreme and hostile environments, such as offshore oil and gas production, nuclear decommissioning, nuclear facility maintenance, deep mining, space exploration, and subsea applications, require the execution of sophisticated tasks. In nuclear environments, robotic systems have advanced significantly over the past years but still suffer from task failures caused by informational and physical uncertainty of the highly unstructured nature of the environment and exasperated by the time constraints imposed by high radiation levels. Herein, a survey is presented of current robotic systems that can operate in such extreme environments and offer a novel approach to solving the challenges they impose, encapsulated by the mission statement of providing structure in unstructured environments and exemplified by a new self‐assembling modular robotic system, the Connect‐R. Abstract : Critical infrastructure, as found in the nuclear industry, requires increasing amounts of intervention as the assets approach the end of their design life. Multirobot systems are an ideal solution to the unique challenges found in these environments. Herein current systems are surveyed and the approach of providing structure in unstructured environments, as embodied by the Connect‐R system, is introduced.