The folks maintaining the CHESS Synchrotron at Cornell University are using an Oculus Prime ROV to inspect the equipment in the 768 meter CESR tunnel.

The radiation emitted during operation is dangerous for humans, so a reliable ROV like Oculus Prime is the way to go. It has been equipped with a radiation badge and a dosimeter, and a couple extra charging docks have been placed in the tunnel to optimize the inspection schedule. The unit’s overlapping wifi network auto-switching capability supplies uninterrupted connectivity throughout the entire 1/2-mile stretch.

The X-ray radiation is expected to degrade Oculus Prime’s unshielded electronics over time, but so far so good after a few months. Battery charging within the tunnel was initially throwing errors; possibly because of the massive nearby magnets, throwing off current sensing in the power PCB. We released a firmware update to increase the allowable current calibration tolerance, and that seems to have done the trick.

UPDATE 2016-4-30: The guys at Cornell provided this great shot of Oculus Prime at work in the synchrotron tunnel