World’s First Drone Flight Inside a Very High Radiation Nuclear Waste Storage Facility

SUMMARY: In this highly visual presentation, attendees will learn how a well-integrated team of engineers, operators, managers, and industry experts all worked together to overcome the multiple technical and programmatic challenges associated with using the emerging technology of indoor inspection drones to collect critical 3D spatial and radiation survey data from inside a DOE very high radiation nuclear waste storage facility, and in doing so, accomplish something that had never been done before.
Audience members will gain a better understanding of what indoor inspection drones are capable of and where this rapidly evolving technology is heading.
SPEAKER’S BIOGRAPHY: Kevin Young started his engineering career as an US Air Force Officer launching rockets and satellites into space from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. He obtained a MS in Electrical
Engineering from the University of Idaho and holds professional engineering licenses from the states of Idaho and Colorado. He currently works for the Idaho Environmental Coalition supporting the DOE Idaho Cleanup
Project and leads his organization’s efforts for using indoor inspection drones to help solve nuclear waste cleanup challenges at the INL Site. He is also an avid supporter of science and engineering outreach and has given over 400 talks on a variety of subjects with the purpose of encouraging young students to embrace science and consider technical careers.