Gori Unit 1 High Radiation Area Monitored by 'AI Robot'

Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power, 2024 Field Deployment
Minimizing Radiation Exposure Damage to Workers

Exterior view of Gori Nuclear Power Plant Unit 1

AI robots are set to replace the monitoring of high-radiation zones at Gori Nuclear Power Plant Unit 1 in the near future. The plan aims to prevent workers' exposure to radiation in advance through remote monitoring using AI robots.

According to related ministries on the 23rd, Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP) is reviewing the "Development of AI-based Multi-Robot Monitoring for High-Radiation Confined Spaces." Currently, they are recruiting contractors for this project, with the expected development period from this year until the end of 2023.

The robots to be developed include two types: a small autonomous ground robot and an ultra-lightweight shock-absorbing flying robot. These two robots will be deployed remotely inside the containment building of Gori Nuclear Power Plant Unit 1, which ceased operation in 2017, to monitor gamma radiation and other radiation types in the high-radiation zones. The monitoring robots will utilize AI reinforcement learning to autonomously recognize obstacles in confined environments and will also be used to build three-dimensional radiation maps through 3D video imaging.

KHNP is pushing forward with the development of monitoring robots specialized for high-radiation zones to minimize workers' radiation exposure. Although human workers can perform tasks in high-radiation zones, the risk of exposure increases with prolonged work. After completing the robot development and conducting tests, KHNP plans to deploy them on-site in 2024 and, after reviewing their safety, expand their use to other nuclear power plants in South Korea.

Meanwhile, KHNP continues to enhance facility operation safety by utilizing 4th Industrial Revolution technologies such as AI robots. In 2018, they developed the world's first "automatic predictive diagnosis" system capable of pre-diagnosing and evaluating nuclear power plant equipment failures. Additionally, to minimize safety blind spots with high accident risks, they were the first in South Korea to apply intelligent CCTV that detects and warns of workers' movements and fire patterns in nuclear power plant construction projects.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.