Energy: Nuclear Disaster Cleanup

The computer vision system needed to process multiple sensor inputs including 3D point clouds, camera feeds, and LIDAR data to identify and classify objects within nuclear debris fields. Using 3D scans of reference objects, the algorithm classified discovered items such as fuel debris, structural materials, pipes, valves, and reactor equipment, outputting object classifications, bounding boxes, and spatial coordinates for integration with the motion planning system. The system required real-time processing capability to support autonomous navigation in unmapped environments, maintaining high accuracy despite challenging conditions including low visibility from dust and particulates, sensor degradation from radiation exposure, inconsistent lighting conditions, and debris fields with no prior mapping data available. Integration with ROS was essential for seamless handoff to the motion planning team handling robot traversal and manipulation tasks.