Emergency response to the nuclear accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plants using mobile rescue robots
TL;DR: The requirements for the exploration mission in the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plants are presented, the implementation is discussed, and the results of the mission are reported.
Abstract: On March 11, 2011, a massive earthquake (magnitude 9.0) and accompanying tsunami hit the Tohoku region of eastern Japan. Since then, the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plants have been facing a crisis due to the loss of all power that resulted from the meltdown accidents. Three buildings housing nuclear reactors were seriously damaged from hydrogen explosions, and, in one building, the nuclear reactions became out of control. It was too dangerous for humans to enter the buildings to inspect the damage because radioactive materials were also being released. In response to this crisis, it was decided that mobile rescue robots would be used to carry out surveillance missions. The mobile rescue robots needed could not be delivered to the Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) until various technical issues were resolved. Those issues involved hardware reliability, communication functions, and the ability of the robots' electronic components to withstand radiation. Additional sensors and functionality that would enable the robots to respond effectively to the crisis were also needed. Available robots were therefore retrofitted for the disaster reponse missions. First, the radiation tolerance of the electronic componenets was checked by means of gamma ray irradiation tests, which were conducted using the facilities of the Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA). The commercial electronic devices used in the original robot systems operated long enough (more than 100 h at a 10% safety margin) in the assumed environment (100 mGy/h). Next, the usability of wireless communication in the target environment was assessed. Such tests were not possible in the target environment itself, so they were performed at the Hamaoka Daiichi Nuclear Power Plants, which are similar to the target environment. As previously predicted, the test results indicated that robust wireless communication would not be possible in the reactor buildings. It was therefore determined that a wired communication device would need to be installed. After TEPCO's official urgent mission proposal was received, the team mounted additional devices to facilitate the installation of a water gauge in the basement of the reactor buildings to determine flooding levels. While these preparations were taking place, prospective robot operators from TEPCO trained in a laboratory environment. Finally, one of the robots was delivered to the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plants on June 20, 2011, where it performed a number of important missions inside the buildings. In this paper, the requirements for the exploration mission in the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plants are presented, the implementation is discussed, and the results of the mission are reported. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
(Webpage: http://www.astro.mech.tohoku.ac.jp/)
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TL;DR: An intelligent trial-and-error algorithm is introduced that allows robots to adapt to damage in less than two minutes in large search spaces without requiring self-diagnosis or pre-specified contingency plans, and may shed light on the principles that animals use to adaptation to injury.
Abstract: An intelligent trial-and-error learning algorithm is presented that allows robots to adapt in minutes to compensate for a wide variety of types of damage. Autonomous mobile robots would be extremely useful in remote or hostile environments such as space, deep oceans or disaster areas. An outstanding challenge is to make such robots able to recover after damage. Jean-Baptiste Mouret and colleagues have developed a machine learning algorithm that enables damaged robots to quickly regain their ability to perform tasks. When they sustain damage — such as broken or even missing legs — the robots adopt an intelligent trial-and-error approach, trying out possible behaviours that they calculate to be potentially high-performing. After a handful of such experiments they discover, in less than two minutes, a compensatory behaviour that works in spite of the damage. Robots have transformed many industries, most notably manufacturing1, and have the power to deliver tremendous benefits to society, such as in search and rescue2, disaster response3, health care4 and transportation5. They are also invaluable tools for scientific exploration in environments inaccessible to humans, from distant planets6 to deep oceans7. A major obstacle to their widespread adoption in more complex environments outside factories is their fragility6,8. Whereas animals can quickly adapt to injuries, current robots cannot ‘think outside the box’ to find a compensatory behaviour when they are damaged: they are limited to their pre-specified self-sensing abilities, can diagnose only anticipated failure modes9, and require a pre-programmed contingency plan for every type of potential damage, an impracticality for complex robots6,8. A promising approach to reducing robot fragility involves having robots learn appropriate behaviours in response to damage10,11, but current techniques are slow even with small, constrained search spaces12. Here we introduce an intelligent trial-and-error algorithm that allows robots to adapt to damage in less than two minutes in large search spaces without requiring self-diagnosis or pre-specified contingency plans. Before the robot is deployed, it uses a novel technique to create a detailed map of the space of high-performing behaviours. This map represents the robot’s prior knowledge about what behaviours it can perform and their value. When the robot is damaged, it uses this prior knowledge to guide a trial-and-error learning algorithm that conducts intelligent experiments to rapidly discover a behaviour that compensates for the damage. Experiments reveal successful adaptations for a legged robot injured in five different ways, including damaged, broken, and missing legs, and for a robotic arm with joints broken in 14 different ways. This new algorithm will enable more robust, effective, autonomous robots, and may shed light on the principles that animals use to adapt to injury.
928 citations
Cites background from "Emergency response to the nuclear a..."
...As described in experiment 5 of the Supplementary Information, the evaluated behaviour descriptors characterize the following: (1) time each leg is in contact with the ground (‘Duty factor’); (2) orientation of the robot frame (‘Orientation’); (3) instantaneous velocity of the robot (‘Displacement’); (4) energy expended by the robot in walking (‘Energy (Total)’, ‘Energy (Relative)’); (5) deviation from a straight line (‘Deviation’); (6) ground reaction force on each leg (‘GRF (Total)’, ‘GRF (Relative)’); (7) the angle of each leg when it touches the ground (‘Lower-leg angle (Pitch)’, ‘Lower-leg angle (Roll)’, ‘Lowerleg angle (Yaw)’); and (8) a random selection without replacement from subcomponents of all the available behaviour descriptors (1)–(7) (‘Random’)....
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TL;DR: In this article, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the COVID-19 disease a pandemic, and the global economic and social life has been severely challenged since the declaration.
Abstract: Global economic and social life has been severely challenged since the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the COVID-19 disease a pandemic. Travel, tourism and hospitality, in particular, has ...
366 citations
Book•
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14 Feb 2014
TL;DR: This book provides a chronological summary and formal analysis of the thirty-four documented deployments of robots to disasters that include the 2001 collapse of the World Trade Center, Hurricane Katrina, the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, the 2011 Japanese earthquake and tsunami, and numerous mining accidents.
Abstract: This book offers the definitive guide to the theory and practice of disaster robotics. It can serve as an introduction for researchers and technologists, a reference for emergency managers, and a textbook in field robotics. Written by a pioneering researcher in the field who has herself participated in fifteen deployments of robots in disaster response and recovery, the book covers theory and practice, the history of the field, and specific missions. After a broad overview of rescue robotics in the context of emergency informatics, the book provides a chronological summary and formal analysis of the thirty-four documented deployments of robots to disasters that include the 2001 collapse of the World Trade Center, Hurricane Katrina, the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, the 2011 Japanese earthquake and tsunami, and numerous mining accidents. It then examines disaster robotics in the typical robot modalities of ground, air, and marine, addressing such topics as robot types, missions and tasks, and selection heuristics for each modality. Finally, the book discusses types of fieldwork, providing practical advice on matters that include collecting data and collaborating with emergency professionals. The field of disaster robotics has lacked a comprehensive overview. This book by a leader in the field, offering a unique combination of the theoretical and the practical, fills the gap.
322 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors summarized the scientific discoveries enabled by in situ transmission electron microscopy, and specifically emphasized the applicability of this technique to address the critical challenges in the rechargeable ion battery electrodes, electrolyte and their interfaces.
Abstract: An in-depth understanding of material behaviours under complex electrochemical environment is critical for the development of advanced materials for the next-generation rechargeable ion batteries. The dynamic conditions inside a working battery had not been intensively explored until the advent of various in situ characterization techniques. Real-time transmission electron microscopy of electrochemical reactions is one of the most significant breakthroughs poised to enable radical shift in our knowledge on how materials behave in the electrochemical environment. This review, therefore, summarizes the scientific discoveries enabled by in situ transmission electron microscopy, and specifically emphasizes the applicability of this technique to address the critical challenges in the rechargeable ion battery electrodes, electrolyte and their interfaces. New electrochemical systems such as lithium–oxygen, lithium–sulfur and sodium ion batteries are included, considering the rapidly increasing application of in situ transmission electron microscopy in these areas. A systematic comparison between lithium ion-based electrochemistry and sodium ion-based electrochemistry is also given in terms of their thermodynamic and kinetic differences. The effect of the electron beam on the validity of in situ observation is also covered. This review concludes by providing a renewed perspective for the future directions of in situ transmission electron microscopy in rechargeable ion batteries. In situ TEM is a powerful tool that helps to understand energy storage behaviors of various materials. This review summarizes the critical discoveries, enabled by in situTEM, in rechargeable ion batteries, and foresees its bright future for extensive applications.
282 citations
TL;DR: The actuator-level control of Valkyrie, a new humanoid robot designed by NASA's Johnson Space Center in collaboration with several external partners, is discussed and a decentralized approach is taken in controlling Valkyrie's many series elastic degrees of freedom.
Abstract: This paper discusses the actuator-level control of Valkyrie, a new humanoid robot designed by NASA's Johnson Space Center in collaboration with several external partners. Several topics pertaining to Valkyrie's series elastic actuators are presented including control architecture, controller design, and implementation in hardware. A decentralized approach is taken in controlling Valkyrie's many series elastic degrees of freedom. By conceptually decoupling actuator dynamics from robot limb dynamics, the problem of controlling a highly complex system is simplified and the controller development process is streamlined compared to other approaches. This hierarchical control abstraction is realized by leveraging disturbance observers in the robot's joint-level torque controllers. A novel analysis technique is applied to understand the ability of a disturbance observer to attenuate the effects of unmodeled dynamics. The performance of this control approach is demonstrated in two ways. First, torque tracking performance of a single Valkyrie actuator is characterized in terms of controllable torque resolution, tracking error, bandwidth, and power consumption. Second, tests are performed on Valkyrie's arm, a serial chain of actuators, to demonstrate the robot's ability to accurately track torques with the presented decentralized control approach.
204 citations
Cites methods from "Emergency response to the nuclear a..."
...Valkyrie was designed Direct correspondence to: Nicholas Paine, npaine@utexas.edu to perform tasks required both for responding to disasters, such as the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster in Japan (Nagatani et al., 2013), and for advancing human spaceflight by one day assisting human explorers in extraterrestrial settings such as Mars....
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...…to: Nicholas Paine, npaine@utexas.edu to perform tasks required both for responding to disasters, such as the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster in Japan (Nagatani et al., 2013), and for advancing human spaceflight by one day assisting human explorers in extraterrestrial settings such as Mars....
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References
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02 Sep 2004
TL;DR: The iRobot PackBot is a combat-tested, man-portable UGV that has been deployed in Afghanistan and Iraq as mentioned in this paper, supporting a wide range of payloads suitable for many different mission types.
Abstract: The iRobot PackBot is a combat-tested, man-portable UGV that has been deployed in Afghanistan and Iraq. The PackBot is also a versatile platform for mobile robotics research and development that supports a wide range of payloads suitable for many different mission types. In this paper, we describe four R&D projects that developed experimental payloads and software using the PackBot platform. CHARS was a rapid development project to develop a chemical/radiation sensor for the PackBot. We developed the CHARS payload in six weeks and deployed it to Iraq to search for chemical and nuclear weapons. Griffon was a research project to develop a flying PackBot that combined the capabilities of a UGV and a UAV. We developed a Griffon prototype equipped with a steerable parafoil and gasoline-powered motor, and we completed successful flight tests including remote-controlled launch, ascent, cruising, descent, and landing. Valkyrie is an ongoing research and development project to develop a PackBot payload that will assist medics in retrieving casualties from the battlefield. Wayfarer is an applied research project to develop autonomous urban navigation capabilities for the PackBot using laser, stereo vision, GPS, and INS sensors.
355 citations
19 Dec 2011
TL;DR: To succeed in the above two missions, the mobile robot, Quince, was redesigned and performed repeated operational test to improve it, and one of the robots was delivered to the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station on June 20, 2011.
Abstract: On March 11, 2011, a massive earthquake and tsunami hit eastern Japan, particularly affecting the Tohoku area. Since then, the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station has been facing a crisis. To respond to this crisis, we considered using our rescue robots for surveillance missions. Before delivering a robot to TEPCO (Tokyo Electric Power Company), we needed to solve some technical issues and add some functions to respond to this crisis. Therefore, we began a redesign project to equip the robot for disaster response missions. TEPCO gave us two specific missions. One was to explore the inside and outside of the reactor buildings to perform dose measurements. The other one was to sample contaminated water and install a water gauge in the basement of the reactor buildings. To succeed in the above two missions, we redesigned our mobile robot, Quince, and performed repeated operational test to improve it. Finally, one of the robots was delivered to the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station on June 20, 2011. In this paper, we will introduce the requirements for the above two missions and report how we fulfilled them.
197 citations
"Emergency response to the nuclear a..." refers methods in this paper
...[A detailed report is given in Nagatani et al. (2011a).]...
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...[Some examples of the improvements made are described in Nagatani et al. (2011b).]...
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03 Dec 2003
TL;DR: The development and proliferation of robot test arenas that provide tangible, realistic, and challenging environments for mobile robot researchers interested in urban search and rescue applications and other unstructured environments are discussed.
Abstract: In this paper, we discuss the development and proliferation of robot test arenas that provide tangible, realistic, and challenging environments for mobile robot researchers interested in urban search and rescue applications and other unstructured environments. These arenas allow direct comparison of robotic approaches, objective performance evaluation, and can ultimately provide a proving ground for field-able robotic systems such as those used at the World Trade Center collapse. International robot competitions using these arenas require robots to negotiate complex and collapsed structures, find simulated victims, and generate human readable maps of the environment. A performance metric is presented which quantifies several pertinent robot capabilities and produces an overall score used to evaluate and compare robotic implementations. Future directions for the arenas and the competitions are also discussed.
161 citations
01 Jan 2010
TL;DR: An alternative approach which integrates position information of other vehicles to reduce the error and uncertainty of the on-board position estimates of the AUV is proposed, which uses the WHOI Acoustic Modem to exchange vehicle localization estimates—albeit at low transmission rates—while simultaneously estimating inter-vehicle range.
Abstract: Maintaining accurate localization of an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) is difficult because electronic signals such as GPS are highly attenuated by water making established land-based localization systems, such as GPS, useless underwater. Instead we propose an alternative approach which integrates position information of other vehicles to reduce the error and uncertainty of the on-board position estimates of the AUV. This approach uses the WHOI Acoustic Modem to exchange vehicle localization estimates—albeit at low transmission rates—while simultaneously estimating inter-vehicle range. The performance capabilities of the system were tested using Oceanserver’s Iver2 and the MIT Scout kayaks.
124 citations
01 Jan 2010
58 citations