AN INNOVATIVE KINEMATIC DESIGN FOR A FOUR DEGREE OF FREEDOM VEHICLE

TELEROBOTICS CAN BE USED IN NUCLEAR POWERPLANTS FOR INSPECTION, MONITORING, AND MAINTENANCE IN ORDER TO IMPROVE WORKER SAFETY, TO REDUCE SHUTDOWN TIME, AND TO REDUCE OPERATION COSTS. IMPROVED VEHICLE MANEUVERABILITY OVER CURRENT DESIGNS WILL BE REQUIRED TO ALLOW ACCESS TO MANY POTENTIAL WORK SITES; THIS WILL REMAIN TRUE EVEN WITH THE NEXT GENERATION OF NUCLEAR PLANT DESIGNS. THIS PROJECT ADDRESSES ONE IMPORTANT ASPECT OF IMPROVED MANEUVERABILITY FOR WHEELED VEHICLES: THE ABILITY TO MOVE IN ANY DIRECTION, INCLUDING SIDEWAYS, IN CRAMPED QUARTERS. IMPROVED MOBILITY WILL BE PARTICULARLY IMPORTANT FOR LARGER MAINTENANCE VEHICLES (AS COMPARED TO SMALLER VEHICLES FOR MONITORING AND INSPECTION). THE CONCEPT USES A NOVEL KINEMATIC DESIGN WITH FOUR ACTUATORS TO ALLOW IMPROVED MOBILITY. PHASE I IS ADDRESSING ANALYSIS, EXPERIMENTAL VERIFICATION, AND DESIGN. PHASE II WILL ALLOW CONSTRUCTION OF A PROTOTYPE FOR TEST AND EVALUATION BY UTILITIES AND BY DESIGNERS OF POWER PLANTS. PHASE III WILL BE COMMERCIAL EXPLOITATION OF THE CONCEPT IN THE NEXT GENERATION OF POWER PLANTS.