Issue link: https://htpgraphics.uberflip.com/i/1045271
MOBILITY, INSPECTION AND OPERATIONS Lead: Ioannis Havoutis, University of Oxford DEVELOPING ROBOTS THAT CAN HANDLE POOR VISIBILITY, LIMITED OR NO LIGHTING AND DIFFICULT TO NAVIGATE ENVIRONMENTS To be useful within the nuclear industry, robots need to deal with poor visibility, limited or no lighting, and difficult to navigate, complex environments. Our expertise in mobile robots, sensing, perception and reconstruction, as well as testing and evaluating robot performance will allow us to produce robust solutions to these navigation and mobility challenges. We are developing highly redundant, remote situational awareness using mobile robots carrying traditional and nuclear- specific sensors. Working across a range of platforms allows us to ensure mobility in the varied environments found on nuclear sites. The ANYmal quadruped can navigate environments that are built for humans; tackling stairs, steps, tight passages, gaps and obstacles. It can do visual path following and incremental exploration of buildings and facilities, and build maps autonomously. The CORIN hexapod has path planning capabilities that allow it to traverse walls to navigate tight passages. A second RAIN hexapod under development performs tasks using an adaptable central component. It secures itself in place over the target area and has a customisable leg layout capable of changing its workspace and performing tasks that require high precision (accuracy +/- 0.1mm). 8