Zurich/Olkiluoto – The autonomous four-legged inspection robot ANYmal from ANYbotics is being used in the Finnish nuclear repository ONKALO. The robot is designed to protect people from possible contamination.
ANYmal from ANYbotics is to monitor nuclear safety in the underground facilities at Olkiluoto. According to a press release, this was initiated by the European Commission's Directorate-General for Energy and the Joint Research Center in collaboration with Posiva Oy. The main focus of the automated robots' work is the constant visual and radiation monitoring of the world's first long-term storage facility for spent nuclear fuel elements, ONKALO.
ANYmal patrols the tunnel system installed on different terrains. At a depth of more than 400 meters, in a network of more than 100 deposit tunnels accessible via a spiral-shaped, 5-kilometer-long main tunnel, ANYmal performs essential and repetitive tasks efficiently and autonomously, according to the press release. Mobility, autonomous navigation and ease of maintenance characterize the surveillance robot. ANYmal has already been successfully tested in the oil, gas and chemical industries as well as in a German waste incineration plant
Increased safety is the key to progress in the robotic inspection and maintenance of nuclear facilities. ANYbotics, a spin-off from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich(ETH), intends to play a leading role in this area, according to the company. ce/ww