A Six-Legged Telerobot for Nuclear Applications Development

Abstract

A six-legged telerobot was evaluated for nuclear applications at the Savannah River Laboratory. Enhancements were added to the man-machine control interface to improve the efficiency and productivity of operations. Although this sys tem was a prototype for laboratory research and development and was not intended for operation in a nuclear environment, the work demonstrated the feasibility of sophisticated walk ing robots in nuclear service. The Savannah River system has served as a valuable prototype forerunner to a production model telerobot that is now under development by Odetics Incorporatedfor the Electric Power Research Institute.