FEDOR space robot might be tasked with radioactive waste sorting
MOSCOW. May 16 (Interfax) - The Rosatom state corporation has taken an interest in using the FEDOR humanoid robot in radioactive environments, the head of the Russian Advanced Research Foundation' National Center for the Development of Technology and Basic Elements of Robotics, Oleg Martyanov, said.
"We have completed Project FEDOR, but we continue to render scientific, technological, and methodological support. Some of the project's results have been shared with Rosatom, which is actively developing the area of anthropomorphic robots. This is necessary for work in hazardous environments, so that people do not have to enter danger zones," Martyanov told Interfax.
A humanoid robot could be used for scrapping nuclear waste, which was earlier done by people, he said.
"The work used to be done manually, and workers risked exposure to radiation. Now it can be done by robots. Rosatom is using our products to create its own platform, which will be employed in the serial production of robots to operate nuclear waste repositories and to sort and dispose of waste," Martyanov said.
FEDOR is an anthropomorphic rescue robot designed by NPO Androidnaya Tekhnika and the Russian Advanced Research Foundation. It was recently presented to Roscosmos, which will consider the robot's use in manned programs.
Alexander Bloshenko, the then advisor to the Roscosmos head, told the press in March that the state corporation was considering the possible sending of a FEDOR robot to space on board the prospective Federatsiya spaceship and the existent Soyuz vehicles.