RESEARCH FOR IN-SITU INSPECTION SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT USING ADVANCED SUPER DRAGON ARTICULATED ROBOT ARM

(2)DEVELOPMENT OF AN ARTICULATED ROBOT ARM WITH TELESCOPIC STRUCTURE

Abstract

We have proposed to apply a long-reach articulated robot arm for the internal investigation of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plants. This report describes the development of the articulated robot arm. To search at the bottom of the Reactor Pressure Vessel (RPV), we need to deliver measurement devices five meters above the X-6 penetration in the case of the No.2 unit. Thus, we develop a lightweight telescopic boom that can be mounted at the tip of the 10-m-long articulated robot arm “Super Dragon.” We increased the joint stiffness at the distal joint by introducing a torsional spring mechanism to achieve posture change of the telescopic boom from horizontal to vertical. We successfully reconstructed the surrounding environment using Structure from Motion by camera images obtained by the experiment.