Articles and Publications
These articles and papers are available as free downloads from this site. If you have any problems downloading any of them please contact us and we will be happy to post you printed copies of them instead.
"Robotic Snake Arm Reaches Into Radioactive Regions", Industrial Robot, Volume 38, Number 2, p200-201
"Robots Seek Role In Reactors", Professional Engineering, May 2011, p7
"Doing the Dirty Work",the Engineer, October 2010, p10
"Nuclear Remote Handling", OC Robotics, August 2010
"Cream of the crop", New Electronics, 26 October 2010, p14-16
"Snake-arm robots to support plant life extension", R. O. Buckingham, A. C. Graham, Nuclear Connect Magazine, 3 October 2010, p13-15
"Minimally invasive robots for confined spaces", Rob Buckingham, Tim François, World Robotics Service Robots 2010, 2010, p137-141
"BBC Focus Awards 2009", BBC Focus Magazine, December 2009, p26-27
"Outer limits", The Engineer, 9 March 2009
"Snake-arm robots wriggle into reactors", Professional Engineering, 25 February 2009, p46
"Tiny snake-arm robot wriggles into confined spaces", Professional Engineering, 3 September 2008, p50
"Smallest snake-arm robot", M Langdon, IET News Website, 22 August 2008
"Snake-arm robots access the inaccessible", OC Robotics, Nuclear Technology International, 2008, p92-94
"Most degrees of freedom on a robot arm", Guinness World Records 2008, 2008, p159
"OCRobotics", Free Radicals, October 2007, p7
"OCRobotics reaches the parts that...", Chris Ducker, Link South West Magazine, Winter 2007-08, p40-41
"Snake-arm robots: a new approach to aircraft assembly", Buckingham, R. et al., SAE AeroTech Congress, Los Angeles, CA, USA, 17-20 September 2007
"Prince has robot tour in his sights", Lynne Hutchinson, Bristol Evening Post, 6 September 2007, p26
"Snake-arm robots", What's New at AeroTech, Aerospace Engineering, September 2007, p32
"'Arm' can reach into cupboards", Mark Baard, The Boston Globe, 14 May 2007
"Snake-arm robots are within reach of aerospace assembly applications", Jon Severn, European Design Engineer, April 2007, p67
"Snakes Alive", Lee Hibbert, Professional Engineering, 20th March 2007, p35
"UK robot-builders press for more funds", Salamander Davoudi, Financial Times, 24th February 2007, p3
"Snake-arm Robot Slithers into Aircraft Assembly", Machine Design, 8 February 2007
"Sensible Solutions", The Engineer, 18 September 2006
"Snake-arm robots slither forward", Jonathon Fildes, BBC News Website, 13 September 2006
"Snake-arm robots", Rob Buckingham, Ingenia, September 2006, p35
"Snake-arm robots - a new approach to aircraft assembly", Buckingham, R. et al., Aerospace Manufacture and Automated Fastening (AMAF) Conference, Toulouse, France, 11-14 September 2006
"Snake-arm robots conduct nuclear maintenance", Anscombe R. et al., International Youth Nuclear Congress (IYNC), Stockholm, Sweden, 18-23 June 2006
"The Robot Century", Rob Buckingham, The Engineer 150, 2006, p51
"A Hands-on Stake in Science", Ellen Kellerher, Financial Times, 16th February 2006, p29
"Spinal Cord", Engineering, Automation and Robotics supplement, November/December 2005, p30
"Simply the Best - Award Winners Named", IEE Review, October 2005, p10
"Robot arm presents the ultimate in flexibility", DPA, July 2005, p16
"Robot Rescuers", Jon Excell, The Engineer, 8th April 2005, p26
"Snaking around in a nuclear jungle", Rob Buckingham and Andrew Graham, Winner of Outstanding Paper Award, Int. J. Industrial Robot, Vol. 32, No. 2, ISSN 0143-991X, 2005, p120-127
"Snake let loose in reactor", Machine Design, 4 November 2004, p35
"Reaching the unreachable", Engineering, Automation and Robotics supplement, November 2004, p18
"Snaking Advantage", Helen Wraige, Professional Engineering, 6 October 2004, p39
"Snake-arm robots and the perception of dependability", Buckingham R. et al., Workshop on Dependable Robots in Human Environments, Salford, Greater Manchester, UK, 7-9 September 2004
"Snake-arm robots - a new tool for the aerospace industry", Rob Buckingham and Andrew Graham, Aerofast 2003, Palais des Congrès, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, September 2003
"Reaching the unreachable - snake-arm robots", Buckingham R., 34th International Symposium of Robotics (ISR), Chicago, USA, June 2003
"Snake-arm robot slithers past obstacles", Machine Design, 19 June 2003, p58
"Technology 2003 Exhibition", Fusion business, Issue 23, May 2003
"Snake in the Class", Engineering, Vol. 243 No. 11, November 2002, p619
"Steerable String", Industrial Technology, November 2002, p56
"Novel robot works its way around the problems of inaccessibility", European Design Engineer, October 2002, p7-8
"Reaching the unreachable, using snake-arm robots", Buckingham R., World EOD Gazette, June 2002, p16-18
"Robotic arm ready to probe brains and bombs", BBC Bristol News Website, 7 May 2002
"High tech robot has safety in its reach", Ian Turner, Bristol Evening Post, 29 April 2002
"snake-arm robots for flexible delivery", Rob Buckingham, Insight, Vol. 44 No. 3, March 2002, p150-152
"Access all areas", Hargreaves B., Engineering, Feb 2002, p29-32
"Mechanical serpents to fix aeroplanes", Design Engineering, February 2002, p6
"Snake charmers", Helen Wraige, Professional Engineer, Vol. 15, No. 2, 30 January 2002, p35
"Robot arm offers flexible solution", Emma Kelly, Flight International, 22-28 January 2002, p23
"snake-arm robots", Rob Buckingham, Int. J. Industrial Robot, Vol. 29, No. 3, ISSN 0143-991X, 2002, p242-245
Snake-Arm Simulator
Free simulation software based on our advanced Snake-arm software suite
Solutions
Industrial Applications
OC Robotics has experts dedicated to analysing problems in any industrial setting. The number of different applications for snake-arm® robots is continually increasing to embrace new sectors
Nuclear
With the problems of radiation dosage and confined spaces, the nuclear industry is a clear beneficiary of snake-arm technology. That fact is borne out by the contracts won and snake-arms delivered by OC Robotics to its nuclear clients
Aerospace
OC Robotics is working with aerospace partners, focused on aircraft assembly, to develop a comprehensive toolkit for low access assembly tasks
Technology
Arm
Select arm dimensions and number of articulated links appropriate for the required performance
Tools
Define tool appropriate for the required task
Introduction
Select introduction method. Rail&Rotate™, 3rd party robot, or a mobile vehicle
Actuator pack
Motors and power electronics can be kept accessible and outside the confined or hazardous space
User Interface
Each UI is carefully constructed to the specification and requirements of the client
News
Snake-arm robots exhibiting at Farnborough Airshow 2012
April 2 2012
We are excited to announce that OC Robotics will be exhibiting at Farnborough International Airshow 2012!
Decommissioning with a snake-arm robot
March 14 2012
Working in partnership with Salvarem (part of the Nuvia group), OC Robotics successfully demonstrated the remote handling capability of our snake-arm robot to Areva NC in France. The snake-arm was deployed into a number of mock-ups, performing a variety of tasks applicable to the decommissioning sector.
LaserSnake project completed with successful demonstration
March 14 2012
OC Robotics and TWI Ltd have successfully completed the demonstration of the Technology Strategy Board funded LaserSnake project.
OC Robotics delivers snake-arm to AMRC
January 12 2012
OC Robotics has delivered a snake-arm robot to the University of Sheffield Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC). The snake-arm will be used to deliver a variety of end effectors into confined spaces, and automate processes that are currently dangerous and time consuming to perform.
Nuclear snake-arm robots: CANDU case study
In May 2010 OC Robotics and OPG IM&CS completed the first deployment of a new snake-arm robot designed to conduct inspections within the Upper Feeder Cabinets of CANDU reactors.
Snake-arm robots for aircraft assembly
OC Robotics is working with aerospace partners, focused on aircraft assembly, to develop a comprehensive toolkit for low access assembly tasks.
Remote Vehicle Inspection
OCRobotics has worked with the UK MoD to introduce a new breed of robot capable of reaching into awkward spaces.
