Radioactive waste is stored in a variety of ways around the world. IAEA inspectors regularly inspect these storage facilities, count and identify the containers, and conduct measurements. This helps prevent the inappropriate use of radioactive material and protect the population and the environment. To relieve the inspectors of their dangerous work, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) organized a robotics competition in Brisbane, Australia. The goal of this competition was to identify high-performance robots capable of creating 3D maps and measuring radioactivity in the storage facilities.
ACTIVEROBOTICX (ARX) participated in the IAEA Robotics Challenge in November with the ZELOS R&D robot. This robot was equipped with a 2D/3D mapping system developed in collaboration with the research group for mobile, autonomous robot systems at the University of Applied Sciences Upper Austria. During the IAEA Robotics Challenge, our robot had to perform the tasks of the inspectors. The results of these tasks were 3D maps of the storage facilities and measurements of radioactivity in the storage areas.