A model-based concept for telerobotic control of decontamination and dismantlement tasks

Mobile robot work systems needed to do nuclear cleanup tasks exhibit complex structural and lost motion characteristics in their mechanisms which make them very difficult to automate. This research considers a macroscopic modeling technique which can be combined with sensor-guided manipulation schemes to achieve the needed in situ automation. A structural modeling method for flexible manipulators is used to optimize system control through sensor integration. The model detail is aimed at total system optimization, rather than maximum accuracy. The model reduces computational intensity of image processing, yet remains simple enough so as not to induce significant computational demands itself. Structural deflections are represented through homogeneous transforms inserted into the forward kinematic chain. The technique is being developed for full-scale evaluation at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory.