Underwater climbing robot for contact arc metal drilling and cutting

A climbing robot for contact arc metal drilling and cutting under water was developed to provide the dismantling of nuclear installations. A sensor-based computer control system is used. The paper contains an overview of the design and technical parameters of the robot. The technological module for the contact arc technique is considered. A combination of the transport and technological drive systems allows to perform both drilling and cutting according to the technological task. Peculiarities of underwater application and different transport modes of robot´s motion to initial working position are presented. Experimental characteristics of the transport and technological modules are given. Some variants of robot´s application and advantages of the implemented technique are discussed