Autonomous hazardous waste drum inspection vehicle

Abstract

Hundreds of thousands of hazardous, radioactive, and mixed waste drums are being stored throughout the world, and the anticipated decommissioning of facilities will generate many more drums. Currently, in compliance with federal regulations, waste storage facilities at U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) sites are inspected manually for degradation and to verify inventories. An Intelligent Mobile Sensing System (IMSS) has been developed for the automated inspection of radioactive and hazardous waste storage containers in warehouse facilities at DOE sites. The IMSS will reduce the risk of exposure to personnel and create accurate, high-quality inspection reports to ensure regulatory compliance. The IMSS includes an autonomous robotic device with enhanced intelligence and maneuverability, capable of conducting routine multisensor inspection of stored waste drums.< <ETX xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">&gt;</ETX>