Rosatom encouraged the Special Design & Technological Bureau of Applied Robotics to create an amphibious robot that can work in emergency situations at nuclear facilities. The robot is lightweight due to the use of aluminium in its construction and can carry objects up to 25 kg while conducting visual reconnaissance on land and underwater.

The Deputy General Director of the bureau, Ilya Laverychev, exclaimed: "The mobile robot is a four-track chassis with a manipulator. The robot is controlled by the operator from the console, either remotely or by cable, depending on external conditions and the technology of work. The operator controls the situation in the area of the manipulator in real time using television cameras."

The four-track chassis with a manipulator is controlled by an operator from a console either remotely or by cable, depending on the conditions and technology of the work. The robot is manoeuvrable and can move along destroyed flights of stairs, overcome blockages, and "fold" in tight spaces.

The robot is made of aluminium and stainless alloys and weighs about 150 kg without attachments. The built-in accumulator batteries provide 5-6 hours of power. The robot can be submerged up to 3.5 metres underwater, and tests have shown that it can withstand exposure to gamma radiation up to 6.5 Gy/h for over 200 hours. The robot can perform surveillance and rescue operations in mines, flooded mines, and under rubble caused by earthquakes.

It is incredible to see an aluminium robot doing almost all the probable jobs a human does in a nuclear reactor, that too at high-risk working conditions. The implementation of this robot may save manpower and also negate the risk of unprecedented accidents at the site.

Edited By: Mayurakshi Ganguly