Multirobot automated indoor floor characterization team

Many facilities exist in the Department of Energy (DOE) which have become radiologically contaminated through years of research and service. These facilities include hot cells, glove boxes, fuel storage buildings, and process buildings. As many of these facilities are prepared for decontamination and decommissioning, the need arises for surveillance and characterization prior to and during clean up activities. Characterization is currently being performed in these areas by having a radiation control technician (RCT) manually monitor radiation levels with hand held instruments. Although these methods are effective for small or hard to reach areas, in large buildings such as the 300+ acre K-25 facilities located at the DOE Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) such methods are tedious and better suited for automated floor characterization systems. The purpose of this paper is to describe the multirobot mobile automated characterisation system and reduced access characterisation subsystem, their cooperative activities, and their current status and future directions