Surveillance of SNM Containers Using Mobile Robotics

Containers for storage of Special Nuclear Material (SNM) have to be robust and long-lasting. While a variety of purpose-specific containers have been developed and generally show outstanding performance, container health must nonetheless be monitored with some frequency. However, due to large quantities of stored material and exposure to radiation it is not feasible to perform in-depth container surveillance on many containers using current methods. Problems arising with the containers are often discovered only once exposure risk reaches a significant level. Though current methods will continue to be a primary source of SNM container surveillance, robotic automation technology can be leveraged to reduce the delay for container issue identification and remediation. Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) has explored using robotics to increase the quality and quantity of data collected from the surveillance of SNM containers. The pilot demonstration conducted by LANL consisted of a Waypoint Robotics Vector mobile platform integrated with a Universal Robotics UR5e arm and visual, thermal, and radiological imaging. The system was deployed in a radiological facility where samples of containers and sealed sources, analogous to that expected onsite, were surveyed for container health. Performance was evaluated against canonical patterns for time and dose received when performing similar work by hand.