When humanity perishes in nuclear fire, the University of Essex's radiation-resistant robots will inherit the Earth
- Reference: 1621607171
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2021/05/21/uni_of_essex_radiation_robots_600k/
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The cash injection, which will be directed to the British university's School of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering, came from the [1]National Centre for Nuclear Robotics (NCNR).
The University of Essex said it intends to use the funding to develop computer vision systems intended for use in nuclear power plants. It also plans to develop methods to increase the longevity of sensors and control systems used in radioactive environments.
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"So far, we have experimentally investigated how sensors and associated chips and software deteriorate with radiation exposure, and have developed new ways of modelling this degradation to predict sensor performance at different radiation dose rates, which is extremely important for building future systems," said team lead [5]Professor Klaus McDonald-Maier in a statement.
Computer hardware typically fares poorly in areas flooded with ionising radiation. The effects vary from transient glitches and errors (for example, an ion changing the electrical state on a transistor causing a bit to flip) to long-term cumulative damage that results in physically degraded electrical components.
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[8]Watch tiny swimming magnetic robots suck up uranium in a droplet of radioactive wastewater
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To lessen this, computer systems that enter radioactive environments are "hardened" to increase their lifespan and mitigate the risk of single-event error (SEE) glitches.
For example, NASA used the BAE RAD 750 processor on [10]the Mars Perseverance rover . This chip, a licensed clone of the IBM PowerPC 750 processor best known for its use on the iMac G3, was designed to withstand up to 100 cumulative kilorads of ionising radiation.
In [11]the documentation , BAE also claimed it can adapt to SEE glitches at a loss of just 1 per cent of the chip's processing power.
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"Although our focus has been on the nuclear domain, our research has developed fundamental robotics, embedded systems and AI capabilities that are applicable across other extreme areas such as offshore environments, in space and mining," added Professor McDonald-Maier. "With additional applications possible, such as bomb disposal, firefighting and rescue robotics, this research will remain relevant for decades to come."
Founded in 2017 with an endowment of £42m, the NCNR is led by the University of Birmingham and includes members from academia, industry, and investment capital.
The project aims to fund robotics research in five key areas: decommissioning, UAV-based monitoring, waste handling, characterisation (detecting the levels and types of radiation at a facility), and remotely operated underwater vehicles. ®
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[1] https://www.ncnr.org.uk/
[2] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/science&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2YKfZM@4O1miRcRxhYjAhyAAAAMM&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[3] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/science&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44YKfZM@4O1miRcRxhYjAhyAAAAMM&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[4] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/science&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33YKfZM@4O1miRcRxhYjAhyAAAAMM&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[5] https://www.essex.ac.uk/people/mcdon01907/klaus-mcdonald-maier
[6] https://www.theregister.com/2021/03/26/ai_laser_gold/
[7] https://www.theregister.com/2021/03/19/self_folding_nanotechnology/
[8] https://www.theregister.com/2019/10/31/magnetic_robots_uranium/
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2019/10/31/magnetic_robots_uranium/
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2021/03/25/mars_helicopter_flight/
[11] https://www.artisantg.com/info/BAE_Systems_RAD750_Manual_20201119949.pdf
[12] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/science&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44YKfZM@4O1miRcRxhYjAhyAAAAMM&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[13] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Re: Hasn't this already been researched ?
Very different problems.
In space (at least LEO) you have a relatively low flux (arrival rate) of high energy charged particles. You get memory bit flips, and occasionally localised hardware damage.
In a reactor you get a high flux of lower energy heavy particles that cause structure damage. ECC doesn't help if the ECC checking circuit is smashed to atoms.
This work is specifically for image sensors which are most sensitive for a bunch of reasons.
They are large area, so chances of a hit are high, the silicon is tuned to be sensitive to low signal levels (to detect faint light) and you can't map around a dead image region in software.
Re: Hasn't this already been researched ?
a much harsher environment than a functioning nuclear power station
Non-functioning ones like Chernobyl and Fukushima might be more of a challenge.
Re: Hasn't this already been researched ?
Non-functioning ones like Chernobyl and Fukushima might be more of a challenge.
You can have either high intensity particles which have a short half life, or a low intensity particles with a long half life.
The problem in Chernobyl is massive quantities of long lived particles randomly strewn over the area which is over a long term harmful for people rather than a massive level of high intensity radiation in one place.
The level of high energy particles that you could get inside a functioning reactor is going to be a lot higher than one that's been dead for 30 years.
Hasn't this already been researched ?
We have satellites in geostationary orbit that already have to be hardened to function properly. And that giant open nuclear furnace in the sky creates a much harsher environment than a functioning nuclear power station.
All the computer equipment on the ISS is hardened, if I'm not mistaken, and it is well inside the Earth's magnetosphere.
I agree that we haven't yet created nuclear plant robot butlers, but I would have thought that the process of hardening electrical equipment didn't need that much research any more.