Technology put to work.
1989
remote tank inspection
The Remote Tank Inspection (RTI) System was developed to perform remote visual inspection of the inside of high level liquid waste storage tanks at the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory. The RTI system provides 18 ft of vertical extension inside the underground tank in order to position a five degree-of-freedom robotic arm. The arm has a reach of 6 ft and a payload of 35 lbs. The primary end effector is a high resolution video inspection system. The RTI controller provides a standardized, multi-tasking environment that supports digital servo control, joint jog and coordinated end point motion control, I/O, collision avoidance, sonar mapping, and a graphics display. The RTI also features an innovative, standardized, and extensible design with applicability to remote inspection, decontamination, servicing, and decommissioning tasks inside nuclear and chemical waste storage tanks.