Chernobyl scientists want robots and drones to monitor radiation risk
Russian troops destroyed and stole equipment used to monitor radiation levels at Chernobyl, requiring the creation of a new sensor network that could involve drones and robots to avoid landmines in the area
Technology
2 May 2022
Scientists at Chernobyl testing a radiation-monitoring device on a quadruped robot from Boston Dynamics Yannick Verbelen
Drones and robots could form part of a new radiation-monitoring system at the Chernobyl power station in Ukraine, as scientists at the plant fear that existing sensor networks built after the nuclear accident in 1986 have been at least partially destroyed by Russian troops.
When Russia seized the Chernobyl plant in February, the sensors monitoring gamma radiation levels quickly went offline and most remained that way. A spike in levels seen on 24 February, the day troops …
