Year
2021
Abstract
From December 2019 to January 2020, SRNL R&DE conducted automation capability demonstrations. An industrial robotic arm and an automated guided vehicle (AGV) were both used to demonstrate tasks which would be prime candidates for automation in a nuclear material processing facility: material handling, and product disassembly. The Automated Guided Vehicle, which is a driver-less fork truck, demonstrated efficiencies towards container handling operations. The robotic arm, using an intelligent vision system and an array of tools, performed the disassembly of a 9975 package and retrieve the inner containment vessel stored within. These material handling and disassembly tasks, if implemented into a production facility, would greatly reduce the total worker accumulated dose, and increase programmatic efficiency.