REMOTELY operated rescue robots capable of withstanding hazardous environments will make emergency jobs across UK nuclear plants significantly safer and more cost effective.
Pioneering engineering firm Forth has designed and manufactured the Rescue Robot which can be sent into disaster zones in the event of an incident and be operated from a command and control centre a safe distance away, removing the risk to human life.
The robot has been successfully trialled at Sellafield Ltd nuclear site in Cumbria, and the team at Forth is now looking to roll it out at other plants the length and breadth of the UK.
Mark Telford, Forth’s managing director, said: “The Rescue Robot is a pioneering development which has already been successfully tested in hazardous environments, and it has been manufactured to offer a safe, remotely operated alternative to sending humans into disaster zones.
The Rescue Robot has been built on a 1.6 tonne JCB compactor excavator platform and fitted with high tech robotics systems and wireless technology, in addition to specialist, robust cameras and lights which won’t be destroyed in hazardous conditions.
Functions of the robot include: a specialist 700bar rescue tool fitted to cut through any hazards in its way; a grapple hook to move any obstruction; an ability to tow a trailer with a fitted hopper to disperse a bund of sand to contain spillages; an affixative spraying system to contain a nuclear spillage.
The robot is also tetherless and can be controlled from a safe space in the control centre up to 150 metres away.
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