The deployment of divers to make underwater video recordings is difficult and expensive. It calls for professionals who are trained in two disciplines: diving and video camera operation. There are even some video inspection tasks – such as recording pictures of the inside of an undersea pipe – which are impossible for divers because the location is inaccessible to a person, or too dangerous.Now a Russian manufacturer, <a href="https://gnomrov.com/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Underwater Robotics</a>, has developed a Remotely Operated underwater Vehicle (ROV) which can carry out video photography missions under the control of an operator who remains safe and dry on the surface of the water. Underwater Robotics’ GNOM-PRO, the world’s smallest and lightest ROV designed for video recording missions, enables users to perform underwater visual inspections without the need for a diver. It also provides a safe way to view small or hazardous locations underwater.Offering outstanding underwater dynamic characteristics, its motion is controlled simply with a joystick. And the key to its stability and ease of use is a <a href="https://www.xsens.com/inertial-sensor-modules" rel="noopener" target="_blank">3D motion sensor</a> from Xsens.Complete motion-tracking module speeds development of ROVXsens’ MTi-3 is a complete AHRS (Attitude and Heading Reference System) including gyroscopes, accelerometers and magnetometer in a 12.1 x 12.1 mm module. It includes Xsens’ industry-leading sensor fusion algorithm, which maintains high accuracy over the sensor’s lifetime, and performs sensor auto-calibration. The use of an integrated Xsens module enabled Underwater Robotics to develop the motion control system in the GNOM-PRO quickly. The module’s calculated measurements of roll, pitch and heading are also easy to integrate into the GNOM-PRO’s control software.When choosing the motion sensor for the GNOM-PRO, Underwater Robotics also carefully considered its size and weight. An important feature of the ROV is that it can be carried by hand: the complete system including the ROV and its maximum 400m-long tether fits in two portable cases. The ROV itself measures 520 x 440 m x 347 mm and weighs 25 kg: this means that it can easily be transported to the site of a mission, and launched and operated from almost any type of boat. Its compact size also means that it can be used in constricted spaces such as pipelines in which a conventional ROV will not fit.The MTi-3 sensor’s small size and its light weight, less than 1g, were therefore highly attractive. But Underwater Robotics’ choice of the MTi-3 was as much about the sensor’s dynamic characteristics. The GNOM-PRO is intended for use in monitoring and maintenance of marine and underwater installations such as oil production platforms and hydroelectric generation plants, for the inspection of ships’ hulls, and for monitoring functions in hazardous locations such as nuclear power plants. Its use as a video camera platform calls for high dynamic stability to ensure that video images are not impaired by blur, shake or other image artefacts.Maintaining stability in waterThe GNOM-PRO’s small size and light weight, however, mean that it is more strongly affected by the motion of waves and currents than a larger vehicle is. The MTi-3’s high performance, including roll and pitch accuracy of ±0.5° under static conditions (±0.8° under dynamic conditions), enables the operator to maintain stable orientation. The GNOM-PRO also has an Auto-Heading Mode to enable the operator to set its direction of travel via an automatic setting controlled by the heading output from the MTi-3. In addition, the MTi-3 sensor’s measurements of velocity, roll, pitch and yaw enable accurate dead reckoning from a known starting position, to establish the geolocation of the ROV.<img src="https://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/wevolver-project-images/froala%2F1618320084977-1618320084977.png" alt="352" width="814" srcset="https://www.xsens.com/hs-fs/hubfs/352.jpg?width=407&amp;name=352.jpg 407w, https://www.xsens.com/hs-fs/hubfs/352.jpg?width=814&amp;name=352.jpg 814w, https://www.xsens.com/hs-fs/hubfs/352.jpg?width=1221&amp;name=352.jpg 1221w, https://www.xsens.com/hs-fs/hubfs/352.jpg?width=1628&amp;name=352.jpg 1628w, https://www.xsens.com/hs-fs/hubfs/352.jpg?width=2035&amp;name=352.jpg 2035w, https://www.xsens.com/hs-fs/hubfs/352.jpg?width=2442&amp;name=352.jpg 2442w" sizes="(max-width: 814px) 100vw, 814px" class="fr-fic fr-dii">Underwater Robotics decided to embed the MTi-3 in the GNOM-PRO ROV after exhaustive evaluation of the motion sensor market.&nbsp;‘On every parameter which we considered important, our evaluation pointed us towards the MTi motion tracker. It is a full-function motion tracker including sensor fusion software, but Xsens fits all the functionality into a small and light package, which is very important for a portable product such as the GNOM-PRO. But the small size does not compromise performance – the accuracy of the MTi-3’s measurements are very good, and in conjunction with the depth measurements provided by a separate pressure sensor, allows the user to tag each frame of video with an exact geolocation.The performance of the GNOM-PRO ROV with the MTi-3 sensor has brought us great success – the product is now in use around the world in countries including France, Italy, Germany, Spain, the US and India as well as Russia. That is why I am sure that we made the right decision to use the MTi-3.’Boris Rozman, CEO of Underwater RoboticsLearn more about the Xsens MTi-3 AHRS&nbsp;The MTi-3 stands out for its small form factor (12.1mm x 12.1mm), easy integration, low cost and robustness – as well as its strapdown integration algorithm.Want to know more? Go to the <a href="https://www.xsens.com/mti-3" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">MTi-3 page</a>.

with Xsens MTi

ROV With Xsens MTi-3 Sensor Inside Performs Geotagged Visual Inspections Underwater

In this webinar (July 2020) we take the first public in-depth look at the Reach Bravo underwater robotic arm system and answer attendees questions.

WEBINAR Reach Bravo - A New Underwater Robotic Arm - Demo and Q&A

This article is part of a series about the usage of robots in harsh environments, written by post-doctoral robotics researcher Matthew Nancekievill. Find the second article, on subsea environments,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wevolver.com/article/robotics.for.harsh.environments.subsea" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">here.</a><hr>Lets face it, there are some jobs that we just don&rsquo;t want to do, or CAN&rsquo;T do that we will have to get robotic platforms to complete. This is especially true of harsh environments such as subsea, mining, space, arctic, often forgotten surgical robotics and nuclear decommissioning. In this article we are going to take a brief look at robotic platforms currently deployed within the nuclear industry, why they&rsquo;re required and solutions that are still required for all you innovators out there. &nbsp;With decommissioning costing the UK &pound;3billion/yr and estimated costs of &pound;121 billion over the next 120 years, there is a requirement for increased efficiencies and decommissioning rates that robotics can provide.&nbsp;Hopefully this article acts as a summary of robotic solutions in nuclear decommissioning without being too much of an exhaustive list.<img src="https://images.wevolver.com/eyJidWNrZXQiOiJ3ZXZvbHZlci1wcm9qZWN0LWltYWdlcyIsImtleSI6ImZyb2FsYS8xNTU5NjY4MDk3MDA3LUltYWdlIDIucG5nIiwiZWRpdHMiOnsicmVzaXplIjp7IndpZHRoIjo5NTAsImZpdCI6ImNvdmVyIn19fQ==" style="width: 766px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib"><h1>A look at the Nuclear Decommissioning Environment</h1>Decommissioning happens around us all the time, old buildings get torn down, coal power plants shutdown and vehicles get scrapped. The nuclear industry is no different with the reactors, storage facilities and processing elements all requiring decommissioning when they reach the end of their useful life.Hazardous substances can be found in all the above environments with asbestos, chemicals used during refinement, rare earth metals and oils that can&rsquo;t be put into our main waste stream all examples of hazardous substances. The Nuclear industry faces all the same problems but adds one to the list, &ldquo;nuclear waste&rdquo;.I&rsquo;ve always felt that nuclear gets a bad rap in the press, with all the pollutants and oil spills throughout the years created from coal power plants seemingly ignored when nuclear waste is mentioned. However, the effects of nuclear radiation on the body can be very unforgiving.To give you a flavour, researchers working with weak radioactive sources, such as myself, are allowed a total yearly dose of &lt;1 mSv attributed to radiation work, registered radiation workers in the UK &lt;20 mSv. This is a large safety factor to account for medically proven effects of radiation at radiation levels &gt;250 mSv with 1,000 mSv likely to kill you within a few days to a couple of weeks. (Average background radiation dose in the UK is approximately 2.7 mSv)Compare this to radiation doses in some of the most radioactive places on earth, such as the UK&rsquo;s Sellafield Site or the Fukushima accident, where in the most extreme cases (no really, the most extreme cases, the majority is not like this) dose-rates of around 10,000 mSv.h-1 are possible (check-out <a href="http://irid.or.jp/en/research/20150420-2/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">these survey results</a> from the IRID and the shape-changing robot mentioned later.This is before you add in the difficulties of the physically constrained and tight working spaces, high temperatures, contaminated water used for cooling and, in the case of nuclear accidents such as Fukushima, an unknown physical layout &ldquo;behind the door&rdquo; due to explosions within the reactor buildings.<img src="https://images.wevolver.com/eyJidWNrZXQiOiJ3ZXZvbHZlci1wcm9qZWN0LWltYWdlcyIsImtleSI6ImZyb2FsYS8xNTU5NjcyODIxNzYyLUZ1a3UuanBnIiwiZWRpdHMiOnsicmVzaXplIjp7IndpZHRoIjo5NTAsImZpdCI6ImNvdmVyIn19fQ==" style="width: 766px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib"><h1>Current Practices</h1>In less radiologically extreme environments, much of the work is carried out by human workers in air-fed suits with multiple layers of gloves, some of which could be lead-lined (lead-lined gloves) worn to avoid contamination and puncturing of the suit on sharp edges. This often means that with all the getting ready, decontamination at the end of the shift and the physical exertion required to operate in these suits, an 8-hour work shift could result in anywhere between 15 minutes to 2 hours of actual decommissioning with power tools cumbersome to use and movement awkward. Workers have been known to empty their boots at the end of their shift of all their sweat that has built up&hellip; Workers are, at the root of it, tasked with dismantling the facility. This means cleaning, chopping and moving all sorts of materials into the correct waste stream and then moving on to the next object or structure.<h2>Robotics in Nuclear</h2>It is clear that some of these repetitive tasks or highly radioactive areas lend themselves to the use of robotic platforms. There has been a large body of work conducted on developing solutions for just that. Aquatic robotic platforms for use within submerged nuclear waste storage tanks, robotic manipulators for laser cutting of structures, drone-based devices for site surveys and ground-based robots for automated warehouse characterisation and unknown environments.Examples of these are:The Forth AVEXIS, developed jointly by Forth Engineering and the University of Manchester. A submersible ROV designed to be deployed within the Magnox Swarf Storage Silo and fit through a 6&rdquo; access port. More information within the video.<iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/OLvAQFz5wh8?&wmode=opaque&enablejsapi=1&origin=https://www.wevolver.com" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable" style="width: 766px; height: 443px;" frameborder="0" data-lf-form-tracking-inspected-kn9eq4roawkarlvp="true" data-lf-yt-playback-inspected-kn9eq4roawkarlvp="true" data-lf-vimeo-playback-inspected-kn9eq4roawkarlvp="true" data-gtm-yt-inspected-7="true" id="626921597" title="Avexis ROV"></iframe>The LaserSnake2, which combines a multi-jointed &ldquo;snake-arm&rdquo; manipulator with a powerful laser-cutter. Developed by OCRobotics, The Welding Institute, National Nuclear Laboratory, Laser Optical Engineering Ltd. And ULO Optics. It is designed to cut and reduce the size of objects and structures to fit in dedicated waste containers.<iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/hqOfRhJsaEQ?&wmode=opaque&enablejsapi=1&origin=https://www.wevolver.com" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable" style="width: 766px; height: 436px;" frameborder="0" data-lf-form-tracking-inspected-kn9eq4roawkarlvp="true" data-lf-yt-playback-inspected-kn9eq4roawkarlvp="true" data-lf-vimeo-playback-inspected-kn9eq4roawkarlvp="true" data-gtm-yt-inspected-7="true" id="439090068" title="LaserSnake2 - Laser cutting for nuclear decommissioning at Sellafield - a world first."></iframe>Researchers from Bristol University have just recently flown a drone over the Chernobyl Red Forest highlighting the site survey capabilities of drones applicable to all nuclear sites.<iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/_Eto98XTm-4?&wmode=opaque&enablejsapi=1&origin=https://www.wevolver.com" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable" style="width: 766px; height: 394px;" frameborder="0" data-lf-form-tracking-inspected-kn9eq4roawkarlvp="true" data-lf-yt-playback-inspected-kn9eq4roawkarlvp="true" data-lf-vimeo-playback-inspected-kn9eq4roawkarlvp="true" data-gtm-yt-inspected-7="true" id="334628213" title="YouTube video player"></iframe>Hitachi-GE have also developed a &ldquo;shape-changing robot&rdquo; to characterise the internals of Fukushima. Designed to be passed through small gaps in a long cylindrical shape, it is then capable of morphing into a &ldquo;U&rdquo; shape for stability. Equipped with a radiation tolerant camera and dosimeter, multiple robots were deployed with valuable data returned.<img src="https://images.wevolver.com/eyJidWNrZXQiOiJ3ZXZvbHZlci1wcm9qZWN0LWltYWdlcyIsImtleSI6ImZyb2FsYS8xNTU5NjY4MzQ5NTkyLVNoYXBlLWNoYW5naW5nIElSSUQtSGl0YWNoaSByb2JvdCAtIDQ1MC5qcGciLCJlZGl0cyI6eyJyZXNpemUiOnsid2lkdGgiOjk1MCwiZml0IjoiY292ZXIifX19" style="width: 766px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib">However, one of them got stuck, which leads me to my next point.<h1>The problem with Robots</h1>I love robots, and I believe that robotic systems HAVE to and WILL have a huge part to play in harsh environments, but there are still things that have so far left deployment of robotic systems on the fringes of use. These include, but are not limited to:<ul><li>Robots are dumb: When compared to a human assessing a situation. The Hitachi shape-changing robot fell foul of a common problem with robotic systems, it got caught in a hole in the grating it was driving on it wasn&rsquo;t expecting and that could not be seen by the human operator with the robot not &ldquo;smart&rdquo; enough to avoid or raise a flag. Robots are only as smart as we make them!</li><li>Radiation effects: Robots readily survive longer than humans but there are still failures of the electronics in high dose areas.</li><li>Tether entanglement:&nbsp;Most robots (not including drones) are often required to be connected via tether. This is for safety, in-case the robot breaks, meaning it can be unceremoniously dragged out but causes issues with entanglement.</li><li>Robots require a skilled pilot: That skill-set is not common.</li><li>The industry isn&rsquo;t ready: When things have been done a certain way for a long time, it is difficult to change that. Not to mention all the legal licensing issues and who takes responsibility when something goes wrong?! Media storms surrounding the ethics of robots taking jobs and becoming our future overlords do not help (thanks a lot Terminator).</li></ul><h1>In Conclusion</h1>There is a great body of work being completed within industry and research institutions developing bespoke solutions for specific problems and there have been many successful deployments and also many unsuccessful deployments, which is all part of innovation! Not included above but deserve a mention with regards to innovation and deployments to Brokk and Seabotix robotic systems that are often used daily.To really get consistent robotic platform deployments in nuclear decommissioning, further innovation improving the capabilities of robotic platforms is required as well as upskilling of the workforce and events showcasing the technology to industry. Communication is key and the continued development of systems by all the engineers out there.<hr>This article is part of a series about the usage of robots in harsh environments, written by post-doctoral robotics researcher Matthew Nancekievill. Find the second article, on subsea environments,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wevolver.com/article/robotics.for.harsh.environments.subsea" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">here.</a>

remotely operated vehicles (ROVs)

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ROV With Xsens MTi-3 Sensor Inside Performs Geotagged Visual Inspections Underwater

WEBINAR Reach Bravo - A New Underwater Robotic Arm - Demo and Q&A

Robotics for Harsh Environments - Nuclear Decommissioning

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