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The Norfolk Naval Shipyard (NNSY) Preservation and Habitability Department (Code 970) recently sought innovative technology to demonstrate at the shipyard in order to bring new ways to conduct blasting work, including hydro, sand, and surface preparation. Code 970 Process Manager Gaston Shaw led the charge and hosted an event Dec. 13, inviting shipyard employees and senior leaders to see the SARCOS Guardian® DX and Guardian® 6M in action and how it could benefit America’s Shipyard’s mission in servicing the fleet.
“The drive for me is to introduce new innovations and technologies to NNSY,” said Shaw. “Safety is always first and paramount and taking care of our employees such as our mechanics and wrench turners by removing a lot of physical barriers and unsafe conditions will produce a better product for the U.S. Navy.”
Hydroblasting is the process of using specialized water pumps to intensify water pressure to remove grime and hard deposits from surfaces. Sandblasting similarly uses sand and surface preparation blasting creates spikes on the surface of an object to help coating adhesion. All processes are used regularly at the shipyard and require employees to follow precise safety guidelines and application requirements in order to complete the work. In order to find ways to bring safer alternatives to the mechanics performing blasting operations, Shaw and his team researched on what could best benefit the shipyard.
Two technologies from SARCOS were brought in that are in the production stages and can be fitted to best meet the needs of the customer. With that in mind, various representatives from across the shipyard including mechanics and senior leaders came out to a demonstration of the technology in action, providing their thoughts and feedback on how this could be implemented on the waterfront.
The Guardian® DX technology is a dexterous mobile manipulation robot that can enhance productive in complex areas, the worker able to teleoperate it from a remote environment utilizing a virtual headset and controls. The robot is able to grab tools as well as be fitted with more secure features to meet the needs of the job, providing a wide range of motion for the user. The Guardian® 6M is a robotic arm capable of performing complex algorithms via software and a controller being manned by a user in a remote environment.
“Our people work on state of the art warships and training platforms. Bringing the latest technology to help our craftsmen ergonomically can ensure our greatest assets – our people – are safe and can utilize their valuable skills for many years to come,” said Code 900S Safety Advocate Mathew MacCord.
Following the demonstrations, Shaw is gathering the feedback from the shipyarders in attendance and providing that input with SARCOS on how the products could be improved and adjusted for use at NNSY.
“These innovations could be used onboard ships and across our waterfront with adjustments noted by our personnel,” said Shaw. “As we continue to pursue these innovative solutions for the future, we’re aiming to bring technologies onboard that greatly benefit America’s Shipyard – its people and the work being done by them on a daily basis. This is how we get better at what we do.”
To learn more about the technology used in the demonstration, please visit https://www.sarcos.com/company/#about-us.
| Date Taken: | 01.05.2023 |
| Date Posted: | 01.05.2023 08:07 |
| Story ID: | 436283 |
| Location: | PORTSMOUTH, VIRGINIA, US |
| Web Views: | 240 |
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This work, Norfolk Naval Shipyard Demonstrates Robotic Technology to Bring Innovative Tools to the Workforce, by Kristi R Britt, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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