Unitization for portability of emergency response surveillance robot system; Experiences and lessons learned from the deployment of the JAEA-3 emergency response robot at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plants

Kawatsuma, Shinji; Mimura, Ryuji; Asama, Hajime*

ROBOMECH Journal (Internet), 4, p.6_1 - 6_7, 2017/02

https://doi.org/10.1186/s40648-017-0073-7

It was cleared that portability of emergency response reconnaissance robot had been very important. So, RESQ-A robots, which had been developed by Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute (present Japan Atomic Energy Agency), had been considered from the view point of portability. After Fukushima Daiichi NPPs' accidents occurred, JAEA had modified a RESQ-A robot to JAEA-3 robot in order to meet the anticipated situation of the accidents. However, actual situation was beyond the anticipated situation, and additional modification was required. The actual confused situation was many rubble were scattered and temporary cables and hoses were constructed in the reactor buildings, so that reconnaissance robots should be conveyed by operators through limited route, should be reassembled in short time and should be able to remove cable and tiers for reduce the operators' exposure dose during maintenance. JAEA modified again JAEA-3 robot system, with cooperation of operators from Fukushima Daiichi NPPs. It was lesson learned that emergency response reconnaissance robot needed to be unitized for portability, and "Unitization Policy for emergency response reconnaissance robot" was developed.