Telerobotic planning and control for DOE D&D operations

The purpose of this paper is to describe the development of a telerobotic system focused on addressing the complex tasks found in real-world deactivation and decommissioning (D&D) activities for the Department of Energy. Because of the large gap between the conditions and constraints required to implement robotic systems and the conditions encountered in in situ D&D work, nearly all D&D activities that are too hazardous for direct human contact are presently executed using purely teleoperated remote systems. Advances in capability and efficiency can be achieved by developing new telerobotic control methodologies that integrate tasks ideally suited for robotic control with task definitions provided by more traditional teleoperated control. The objectives are to reduce task execution time, reduce the required operator skill level, and to enable the use of tools that are not suited for purely teleoperated control.