Decommissioning nuclear power plants is a long and complex process and presents radiation challenges that often necessitate the use of robots to minimise the risk to humans on site.
However, most robots are controlled through wired connections such as local area network cables, which limits how many robots can be used simultaneously and creates operational challenges such as cable management and the navigating of confined spaces.
Now, researchers from the Institute of Science Tokyo (IST) have developed a 2.4GHz wifi receiver chip that can withstand radiation doses of up to 500 kilograys (kGy) and enable wireless control of robots in ultra-high-radiation environments.
Robots have been routinely used as part of the clean-up of Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant which was damaged by a massive earthquake in 2011 resulting in a meltdown. This recently included a remotely operated robotic arm designed to snake through narrow passages to conduct internal investigations and retrieve a sample...