Trial by fire: teleoperated robot targets Chernobyl

Abstract

The blast that destroyed Unit 4 of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant (CNPP) 12 years ago prompted a firestorm of scientific, technological, political, and economic proposals for managing the worst nuclear accident to date. Following a meeting of the G-7 nations-the United States, Canada, Britain, France, Italy, Germany, and Japan-and Ukrainian representatives, the US Department of Energy (DOE) and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) organized and funded a "dream team" of experts in robotics as well as computer hardware and software for the "Pioneer Project". Pioneer is a specialized, tethered, bulldozer-like robot equipped with stereo vision for real-time 3D mapping, a core-drilling and sampling apparatus, and an array of radiation and other sensor tools for remotely investigating Unit 4. The team has scheduled Pioneer's deployment at Chernobyl for November 1998.