Introduction and Problem Statement

Introduction:

The Nuclear and Applied Research Robotics Group at The University of Texas uses an autonomous robot to explore radiation contaminated areas in order to scan for alpha particle radiation. The robot uses a pair of Alpha radiation sensors to can the ground that it travels over. These two sensor are mounted on the ends of arms that sweep to cover more surface area. However, the current deign does not allow for the arms to travel up or down. Our focus will be on a robotic mechanism to move the arms up and down.

Problem Statement:

The alpha particle sensing robot needs to be versatile enough to not need human intervention. Currently, the robot is not at that stage as it has difficulty traveling over uneven terrain and docking into its own charging station. This is because the alpha particle sensors are very close to the ground and are fixed so that they cannot move up and down relative to the ground. The figure below illustrates the mounting of the alpha particle sensors to the robot.