Mobile robot for hazardous environments

This paper describes the architecture and potential applications of the autonomous robot for a known environment (ARK). The ARK project has developed an autonomous mobile robot that can move around by itself in a complicated nuclear environment utilizing a number of sensors for navigation. The primary sensor system is computer vision. The ARK has the intelligence to determine its position utilizing {open_quotes}natural landmarks,{close_quotes} such as ordinary building features at any point along its path. It is this feature that gives ARK its uniqueness to operate in an industrial type of environment. The prime motivation to develop ARK was the potential application of mobile robots in radioactive areas within nuclear generating stations and for nuclear waste sites. The project budget is $9 million over 4 yr and will be completed in October 1995.