QinetiQ’s Talon Robot Modified For Detecting Radiation Levels In Fukushima Power Plant

The entire world is aware about the cataclysmic 8.9 magnitude earthquake that rocked the entire Japanese nation and was followed by an enormously destructive tsunami. The two back to back natural disasters wreaked havoc in the country of the rising sun. But it didn’t end there. The cooling systems of the three nuclear reactors in Fukushima got irreparably damaged by the monstrous 10 meter high tsunami waves. The nuclear plant faced the grave #-Link-Snipped-#threat of a meltdown in these circumstances but it was avoided by using the ocean water for cooling the nuclear vessels. But the next problem that has raised its ugly head in front of the Japanese government is the management and safe disposal of the contaminated water. Now, researchers at the Idaho National Laboratory have taken great efforts and created a modified version of QinetiQ North America robot. The robot’s design is altered a little bit so that it can successfully monitor and track the radiation levels in this Japanese plant.

This fourth generation Talon robot originally manufactured by the QinetiQ North America and remodeled by Idaho Lab after receiving directives from the Department of Energy will be sent on the first of its kind mission to Japan. The Talon is having a military ops background and has the experience of working in Iraq and Afghanistan. It was also used in the rescue operation at the World Trade Centre, New York, after the twin terror strikes. However, it has never yet been commissioned to radioactive environment.

For its trip to Japan, it has been loaded with state-of-the-art gadgets and sensors. It can identify a mind boggling 7500 kinds of environmental hazards with the assistance of a variety of chemical, biological, radioactive and explosives detecting sensors. It also has special GPS system and digital cameras. All these devices will help it to measure the radiation levels and plot color coded maps. The highly radioactive water that has accumulated near the reactors is making it extremely complicated for the workers to access the area. All in all, the condition is getting worse every day as the workers in the plant are having very little options in terms of instruments and artificial intelligence.

The immediate job at hand for the Talon robot after landing in Japan is to inform the Fukushima engineers and workers by visualizing the radiation in the environment. After taking the radiation readings using the various electronic sensors, it will create a map which will show different levels of radiation with different color schemes. This geo-spatial filtering of the area in and around the reactors is done by the GPS device and the special algorithm developed by the DOE scientists. The camera and GPS inputs will be used to create a Google Earth map and the intensity levels are superimposed on it. In this way, when the automated vehicle moves through the plant, it will leave a trail which can be followed by the workers on the operator control unit. Let us hope that the Talon robot helps solve the problem in Japan.

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