Automated Construction System of a Modularized Rail Structure for Locomotion and Operation in Hazardous Environments: Realization of Stable Transfer Operation of Different Modules in Multiple Load Directions

Our research group is developing an automated construction system for a modularized rail structure in the decommissioning project of the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant, Japan. The system can construct locomotion and operation infrastructure for robots in hazardous environments where human work is difficult. In a previous study, we developed straight modules with consideration for mass-production availability. However, the grasping procedure executed by the previously developed transfer robot is not suitable for the new structure of the straight module produced by plastic working (extrusion forming and sheet-metal bending). To ad-dress this problem, we developed a new grasping mechanism. The mechanism utilizes guide pins not only for adjusting misalignment between two modules but also for fixing the module to the transfer robot. The experimental results show that the newly developed mechanism contributes to the smooth transfer operation of different modules between a transfer robot and a constructor robot in multiple load directions.