Robots to take dangerous jobs

Transferable technology from the nuclear industry could help remove construction workers from dangerous environments on site, if a demonstration project by the North West Development Agency (NWDA) takes off.
NWDA believes START (Safety Through Automated and Robotic Technologies) is the first robotic initiative in the world that focuses on personnel safety as opposed to new build.
John Riehl, START project leader and managing director of Construction Robotics Limited, said: "This project will demonstrate the feasibility of applying transferable technologies and skills developed in the North West to the construction industry.
"Its success will remove personnel from situations where falls or exposure to other health hazards are commonplace and require considerable effort to mitigate risk."
Riehl said that the vision for START is to spin out existing technologies.
"We are not about reinventing the wheel but more of a lateral assessment of what exists in many high tech industries with the view to spinning these technologies into other markets, in particular, the construction and structural maintenance industry, where automation is almost non-existent," he said.
When asked if this means construction workers will be replaced by machines, Riehl replied: "The intention of this initiative is not to replace jobs, it is to enhance and improve the role and remuneration of existing personnel. An essential component in keeping costs down in automation and robotics is to keep the human thought-process in the loop."
The first practical demonstration of using existing technology from the nuclear industry took place last month when British Waterways, working with Cheshire County Council, carried out a £3.5m restoration of the Hayhurst Bridge in Northwich, a 19th century, grade II listed structure.
"The bridge's design was such that human access was a potentially dangerous and expensive operation, so the NWDA verified the feasibility of using automated and robotic machinery to carry out a visual inspection," said Riehl.
A camera was attached to the end of a robot usually used in the nuclear industry and lowered down the bridge's pontoon.
"The demonstration was extremely successful," added Riehl. "We proved that you could take a robot normally used in the sterile, clean environment of the nuclear industry and put it in dirty, damp surroundings and it still works."
In time, Riehl envisions specialist contractors with whole families of robots that can be hired to carry out a whole range of construction-related jobs.