Underwater climbing robot for contact arc metal drilling and cutting

A climbing robot for contact arc metal drilling and cutting under water was developed to provide the dismantling of nuclear installations. A sensor-based computer control system is used. The paper contains an overview of the design and technical parameters of the robot. The technological module for the contact arc technique is considered. A combination of the transport and technological drive systems allows to perform both drilling and cutting according to the technological task. Peculiarities of underwater application and different transport modes of robot's motion to initial working position are presented. Experimental characteristics of the transport and technological modules are given. Some variants of robot's application and advantages of the implemented technique are discussed.