We recreated the very first robot of Chernobyl Reactor Sarcophagus!
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 3 มิ.ย. 2024
- Another chapter of Chernobyl's history comes to light as we explore the half-mythical tale and successfully recreate the legendary toy robot of 1986! This makeshift machine was based on a toy rover, to which a radiation detector, vidicon camera, thermometer, and lights were attached. Back in 1986, it conducted primitive radiation and thermal surveys within the Sarcophagus of the destroyed Chernobyl Unit 4. Although its design was not as sophisticated as those which followed, in the early period after the Chernobyl disaster, even such solutions worked well.
The project was very challenging due to a lack of information and was completed through extensive research and component identification, relying on a written memory provided by physicist Oleksandr Borovoi and a few existing blurry images.
What you will find in this video:
00:00 - Introduction
00:47 - The story
03:41 - The research
04:30 - The base toy
07:01 - The camera
08:40 - Electronmaster, once again, worked wonders
09:48 - Rebuilding the robot
17:04 - The control panel
17:55 - Test-drive
20:27 - Future plans for an exhibition
Become a member on our Patreon to see the backstage of this amazing project now: www.patreon.com/collection/24...
Donate: www.buymeacoffee.com/chernoby...
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hahahahah, this is amazing, i wish you more subscribers, more views and everything great
Aha, I'm imagining the news title "Unit III of the Chornobyl NPP has been lanched by a weird couple in lab coats")))))
@@ChernobylFamily At this rate with your understanding, perhaps.....? Though you seem more likely to launch it into orbit for fun than cause any unexpected trouble.
Holy shit, the attention to detail for getting all the right pieces is amazing. Especially with how little you had to work with.
That actually was really damn complex research, but very interesting.
@@ChernobylFamily I'm glad this will hopefully end up becoming a functional museum exhibit. While not something massive in size like the lunar rovers, it's no doubt just as important to history and difficult to replicate, so congrats!
The work you have done is really beyond words. You have done a fantastic job recreating this piece of history. The video shows only a 20 minutes summary of a project taking months to make. It must have been hard. Again: fantastic work, great respect. Stay safe!
Thank you! Well, it took some effort...) Check the patreon page by the link below - there are described things which are not in this video.
@@ChernobylFamilyIn a couple of decades you’ll get a well-deserved national governmental award for all this work. I’m sure of it. Now is the critical time when this preservation and reconstruction work can still be done. You understand it and do what you can do now, not later when people with memories will be gone, as will be gone the artifacts themselves. Hats off for this work.
@@absurdengineering thank you...! Not sure if we need any award; we just are too many years in yhe subject, enough that it became very intimate and close to heart. If someone finds it important, that is the most important for us.
@@ChernobylFamilyI find this work very important! On another subject - what nice mechanical typewriter skills. I’m lucky that they were still around in the 80s and I have spent a lot of time playing with them.
I’m surprised how small it was. I actually made a radio controlled tank for my final year school project in 1986. I used an “action man tank” which was a kids toy for the body and fitted better tracks and radio gear inside it - it was very robust
Wow! Thank you for sharing!
That toy seems really well made, like stuff from America in the 1960s and 1970s. It's no wonder that the radiation team would use it as a base.
I believe it was more a spontaneous idea... at least Borovoi in his book describes it in a way that it gives this vibe.
@@ChernobylFamily sometimes genius requires quick thinking. Definitely don't blame the man for thinking of using it.
The Vega 2/20 actually makes a very nice little macro lens.
I am still not sure if they put there Vega. For some meaningful image of that test sheet we needed 1.2 m with the best adjustments. Somehow too far.
Holy shit, the commitment in this video is incredible! Awesome job as always, preserving history and making it at the same time!
Thank you so much! Next spring, if we will be alive, wait for 100 Kg Scout of SpetsAtom!
@@ChernobylFamily 😂😂😂
I mean we have drone attacks so often that you never know, but some parts we got - there are even a few updates on Patreon.
Yeah, I heard about the recent attacks on your Capital, and I hope they'll cease soon for good.
I have always been interested in Chernobyl's hystory, so I'm glad that you two are sharing it here online.
Can't wait to be able to travel to visit, hopefully very soon!
Stay safe! Greetings from Italy!
~ Stefano
@@stefa168 thank you!
I look forward to traveling there to test drive the robot! It might be a while.
Do not forget to write us!
The chairs and flooring at the Museum in Kyiv integrating the appearance of the reactor is some fantastic design too!
Back in 1992, the entire museum was created as a solid art composition.
The most interesting i've seen on youtube in past years! Not some fake restoration but rebuilding with investigation! Nice to know that Odesa participated in this project😊
Thank you! Love you city!
Utterly fascinating! I was a child in the United Kingdom during the Chernobyl disaster, and remember it vividly. Apart from your wonderfully dry humour, one of the things that made a big impression on me during this video was how factories like the one that produces ICBMs also produced toys. I have two electronic musical instruments from the Soviet era, Lell 22 keyboards, that were produced in a factory that usually made radio equipment for the military. Here in the West, "military grade" equipment was incredibly expensive, but almost always beautifully made and easy to repair. My Lell 22s are extremely badly made though. A friend who grew up in Soviet era Russia explained that at that time everything was made according to "norms", a system where each factory was supposed to produce a certain number of items each month or else the workers would receive less pay. This meant everything was made as quickly as possible, and not tested, with items made towards the end of the month being the worst quality.
True story about plans. And thank you for sharing yours!
That is indeed a peculiarity of the soviet system where most factories were built exclusively for only military production. When the leadership decided it was finally right time to consider improving the living standards of ordinary people as well, they gave an order that _every_ military factory had to quickly find a consumer product and start to manufacture it (in addition to the military goods).
I do recall learning about the original, at the time. As I remember it, a Channel 4 (here in the United Kingdom) television documentary crew went to Chernobyl. The researchers there were terribly poorly funded, hence their need to adapt a toy tank. The documentary showed them using it to explore the interior of the reactor, which (shockingly) was found to be empty: all the interior structure and fuel had melted and oozed out of the containment (most famously creating the so called "elephant's foot"). The Channel 4 documentary crew left behind their radiation suits, for the researchers, who'd only received ordinary chemical protection suits.
Yes, i remember that movie. The story is beautifully said, but they told what they were told by Kurchatov's expedition which likely wanted to gain attention and subsequently, foreign funds with was an issue in 1991 (the movie went on air around that time). The footage they used (which we also partly did) was manipulated. Specifically, in that documentary there were glued together a fragment with this robot and image of the reactor internals; the latter was clearly made with a PTZ camera like those we told about in our another video, the robot won't move this way to give that kind of picture. Not even speaking, this device never ever could survive even close to that place, the levels there were insane back then, that would burn away and plastic chassis melt. We had a chat with the Shelter researchers, they confirmed our guesses: it went relatively far, in outer corridors which nevertheless had severe radiation levels to be explored. Speaking about the Elephant foot, the way to it is not passable by any machine for 100% and before your reach it, you need to pass other, not less nasty FCMs. Summing it up, I mean, it DID it job, but not the way how it was presented, and myths were added over the years. That made the research of the project pretty complex. But very interesting.
Fuck yes, great job on the replication of that simple but ingenious little robot! Maybe we get in the future more excursions into soviet robotics?
If all will be good, next spring wait for a 100-Kg Scout with a KTP-63 PTZ camera on it.
@@ChernobylFamily this is unbeliavable cool
Thank you mate! Just hold fingers that some rus*аn mіssile flying to out home won't cancel those plans together with us.
here before 1 million views.
You always have been prophetic, so I trust you!
@@ChernobylFamily 1 million views is rookie numbers for a project like this, 3.5M at the very least. The bit a the end about the little fella entombed in the sarcophagus for ever, brought a tear to my eye.
3.6 megaviews. Not great not terrible.
Same dawg
дякую
Будь ласка!
Great job as always! Thanks!
BTW Is there any information on max range of original robot? I don't think it was more then 10 meters. If so, then robot was more like "round the corner" scout.
15 meters. You are right, Borivoi describes it as a 'scout dog'. But knowing the Shelter, I can confidently say that sometimes to have 'eyes' one meter away from you may save health. What this thing actually did.
Thanks for the informative work, bro! Much love from new zealand! 🤟
Thank you so much! Greetings from Ukraine!
This little robot and all the other work that was done helped save so many lives all across Europe.
Yes.
Also this is an odd question, but it has always fascinated me, do you know what the thickness of the wires that you connect to the connectors ??
RP-15 accept up to 400V 5A, and by diameter of pins from inside I'd say 3 sq. mm easily (if we do not mind the flexibility)
@@ChernobylFamily thank you so much, i was not expecting an answer so fast. It is crazy to think that they just modified a toy and sent it inside. When they talk about radiation destroying these "robots" it makes sense now. But then again, even modern NPP robots suffer from damage when surveying reactors that are not leaking or in malfunction. In my mind i always thought they were huge robots that were used - th-cam.com/video/1Qp9dYgTDTE/w-d-xo.html - similar to these.
It fills me with anguish that none of the "liquidators" or the families displaced from Pripyat were ever formally acknowledged/awarded/or compensated. They saved the world from disaster. sorry for the long reply.
Fantastic work on this project. The attention to detail and historical accuracy is impressive....
It's pretty strange that the engineers at the time had to do such a makeshift work, knowing that Lunokhod (in toy form at 5:00) happily drove on the harsh environment of the Moon close to 20 years before.
Can't wait to come to see the exhibit and play with it ;)
Thank you!
If you check Borovoi's book, he explains that there were attempts, but conditions were far more extreme than those designers imagined. As for Lunokhod, it actually happened, if you watched our documentary about robots released in July, there was STR-1 robot designed by A. Kemudzian who actually previously developed the Lunokhod and transitioned his idea to STR. But this work was very discoordinated, solutions were needed "for yesterday" hence there was a mess...
That toy Lunokhod is very nice! I'm a big fan of Soviet space.
The robot is a perfect example of a "hack" - combining ingenuity with whatever materials are available.
We had our wedding anniversary, so I got it as a gift to Michaela.. she liked it too..:)
@@ChernobylFamily Nice!
Some amazing historical detective work in this video! This is amazing, well done.
Thank you!
Nice restoration, well worth the effort! The beautiful simplicity in engineering :).
Glad that you liked!
Your robot looks amazing! And it works surprisingly well considering how old the toy was. I can see why the Chernobyl engineers decided to use it in the first place.
Anyway, great work! I can't wait to see what you're going to do next!
Thank you so much!
I owned a version of the lunochod and a track based cable controlled rover. It was obviously a war tank but they produced it orange, left out the cannon and mounted a shovel on front. It was around 1978 or so, i am born in west germany and some privilequed related from east germany send over such toys. I enjoyed them long years but eventually they broke beyond repair or got reused for some of my early maker projects 😢😂
Thanks for sharing! I had Khartron's 6-wheeler tow truck back in the times, well, same story.
Note: some folks call anything with track , that isn’t a bulldozer , “a tank “ , great video .
Thank you!
Absolutely insane project. Can't wait until it gets put on display for all to see. Y'all did an amazing job :)
Thank you!
I wonder if they ever gave the original a nickname? Thank you for recreating another bit of lost history. I do remember seeing video of the original years ago and even then it was just described as a modified toy.
Slava Ukraini!
Borovoi describes it exclusively as "Little Toy Tank". He seems to be the only person who actually paid attention to it, names of all other participants were lost in the waves of history, and AFAIK, Borovoi passed away either last or this year (5 days ago we had a meeting in Chornobyl town, one of old colleagues mentioned that). We, however, this robot it "SI-6", which is acronym from Ukrainian "Blue Duct Tape, 6 Meters", as exactly that much of it went for this project. Glory to Heroes!
@@ChernobylFamily A good name for the recreation :)
@@ChernobylFamily sad to hear he died. He definitely died as a hero. Maybe that little toy tank will be with him somewhere in the heavens.
Nice recreation job and excellent video, as always! 👍
I had this rover as a kid! Still have motors, gears, wheels and maybe tracks in some part boxes.. Saved them, but didn't used them for projects.. 😂 Sad only, that I disassembled, back in days, what was left from it.. 😢
...we all passed this stage, I guess.
this chanel is pure treasure
keep going!
Thank you!
It is certainly amusing to think what toys have been repurposed for serious work. Creative or unusual solutions to real problems are one of my favorite subjects. For instance, NASA used a tank chassis and electric drill while testing the space shuttle. It punctured the overheated tires so they wouldn't pop.
Yeah, I remember that story.... actually, quite clever.
Wow this is amazing, I'm impressed by the realism. There may be a pot inside the camera controlling RF output gain that you can use to boost the signal before it goes through the coax. For the belt slipping on the driven rollers, you could try this stuff called "belt dressing". It's a bit sticky and helps with belt slip in car engines. That surplus electronics store was cool too - In Toronto we used to have a store called "Active Surplus" I spent hours in, but sadly it's been gone for many years.
About the belt dressing it is a very good idea. During a close-up inspection it is visible that motors do have enough power to move it well, but the contact between wheels and tracks is not that good as soon they get in their long-storage position.
as always, Nice Video.
i heard that boiling rubber bands for tape decks can restore slightly the plasticity and shape, you could try that on the tracks
thank you for this hint! Because their condition really affects movement very much, video does not capture that.
It should also be pretty easy to model and recreate the belts as a 3d model and print them in a flexible filament like TPU. On thingiverse there's a project called "Robot Base II" that has such tread belts.
Nice project and it I have a lot of respect for the builders who had to do this initially.
Thank you!
10:08 that sounds like a cool market
It indeed is. We have a video about it, check it out.
Best tutorial on "How to design radiation hardened robot"
Still not the best. We showed this to engineers who design actual robots for the Shelter, they said that yes, this would work, but not that far. The only thing that can survive, must have all electronics at operators's place, and on the robot have to be only relays.
True, voltage drop on thin wires for long runs would make it a bit anemic. I wonder if they fed it higher voltage at the control box to accomodate for that voltage drop when it met the motors.... @@ChernobylFamily
The attention to detail on the project is incredible. Its great to see a piece of history that otherwise would have remained unseen forever aside from a few old photographs. I have plans to build something similar to inspect my ventilation system in areas that would be hard to access without considerable dissassembly. Will have to be much smaller though and likely no dosimeter.
Thank you and good luck!
Wow what a project you ever made. I thought the robot failed all due to high radiation containment inside reactor. I had no ideas on how bad it was. I am very impressed of your projects you re-enacted. Good job Sir! Glory to Ukraine! Very Impressive!
Thank you so much for your motivating words! Well, we had an extensive chat with the experts who design actual robots for the Sarcophagus; their opinion is that this thing actually had all the chances to work well due to the fact that everything except the camera electronics was placed remotely, and even this camera might survive some relatively high (not extreme, though) radiation. It surely did not go to, say, reactor core surroundings as some documentaries claim, but it could explore some outer corridors which already was a contribution to safety of people. Nevertheless, the project is complete but not over, we still will work on some enhancements to make it even more accurate before placing on a permanent exhibition.
Glory to Heroes! Thank you!
Great job at making working replica of very imaginative solution to really hard problem!
And it is so lovely...!
this video is so cool. The history, The editing, the robot itself. i'm proud of you guys
Thank you so much for your kind words. You know, it is a lovely machine and it was really interesting to work on it. Even engineers, who create already modern robots for Sarcophagus, told that they cannot describe it other than 'cute'...)
У моего соседа был в детстве танк, который управлялся по проводам аналогично этому, но проходимость у него была явно хуже. И батарейки быстро садились) Отличная работа!
Дякуємо!
Positively amazing. Great research and reconstruction, as always.
Glad you enjoyed it!
this is an amazing project and a great video about it! how long did it take to complete this with all the research and parts acquisition?
Check the Patreon updates. It took time since September I think.
this channel really is a hidden gem! good job, i love the build!
Thank you so much!
Awesome work! What a neat and recreation, you went out of your way to assure authenticity. Thanks as always for sharing. Hope the troubles will be over soon so I can visit beautiful Ukraine. Stay safe, all the best wishes.
Come anytime, we can have a nice talk on Chernobyl here.
Bravo, you've done well! Amazing research, I think you need a shielded cable for your video signal as Electronmasters image looked quite sharper.
It is shielded coaxial, the problem is has 3 soldered connections. Just need to get a better one.
Merry Christmas , as always , super excited to watch this video .
Happy holidays! Thank you!
This was really cool project! I absolute enjoyed the whole video as always. I think the little replica is awesome!
Thank you!
У вас дуже цікаві відео, а сам проект це просто щось неймовірне 👍
Дякуємо!
Круто вийшло. Дякую що відновлюте історію
Дякуємо, що прийшли!
Great video! I loved the investigation part of the story.
Chernobyl-related research is always very interesting, because it is always requires a high grade of an interdisciplinary approach.
Отличная работа, ребят! 😘
Hey guys. Great job. Thank you ❤️
Thank you!
Unique content, thank you!
Whoa!!! great work my friend!!!❤
Thank you...!
Fantastic attention to detail, looks like it would be an excellent addition to a museum. It really showcases the ingenuity and resourcefulness those engineers must have had back then.
We wil do our best to showcase it in the most effective way; stay tuned for more updates!
Amazing work. Thank you.
Thank you so much!
what an amazing video! Ty!
You are so welcome!
woow man awesome work! Pretty neat that you could find out what was the exact toy used for this purpose!
Thank you very much!
Perfect engineering job Alex. 👍 Back in 1986 You would be a valuable employee...
I do not need 1986 to be a valuable employee in Chernobyl ;)
Amazing work !
Thank you so much!
The current day tech for similar tasks is the spot mini. And. Oh boy it's cool and does the reconnaissance with such a grace that this toy could never even dream of. The toy tank though, still does the same work. Less pretty and less agile. But still pulls it off.
Yea i do appreciate the versatility of a walking robot. But for a simple task it's sometimes best to use a simple robot. And not having the tech of this decade did not hinder the ingenuity of emergency engineers back then.
With Spot there is an entire story at the NPP, which we will cover one day hopefully..)
Awesome work, guys!
Thank you, oh Great Master of talking robots! Happy to see you here!
Beautiful work!
Thank you very much!
Happy little tank toy in Soviet Union: Exists
Chernobyl disaster: *I'm gonna end this man's whole career*
He was called for a higher purpose, and did fantastic.
Not sure if fantastic, but at least not bad...)
Awesome job guys ❤
Thank you!!
Awesome work!!! Greetings from Argentina!
Thank you very much! Greetings from Ukraine!
I love learning about chernobyl i watched nearly every move and documentary
And i love your channel 🎉😊
Thank you!
No problem
Incredible road to recreation of the legend, wooah...
Thank you so much!
I've been looking forward to this one for quite a while Alex and it was worth the wait! This is a super video, really enjoyable and thoroughly fascinating. I liked the pictures of all the workshop activity, especially the repair of the camera - what an amazing piece of work! I didn't know there were still people who could work on ancient analog electronics! I could go on and on praising this video, it's a wonderful job. Thank you so much for all the hard work that you all have put into this. A very happy Christmas to you all there and, please God, peace in your country in 2024. God's blessings on Ukraine.
Thank you! As for the camera, the funniest fact is that ElectronMaster is way younger than me :) The question is only the knowledge:)
Amazing job!
Thank you so much!
Thank you for your job!
Thank you!
Amazing! Great job!
Thank you!
What a wonderful passion project! Boy, it must've been hell researching the device!
I have A LOT of questions, I'll try to limit myself to the following:
1. How long do you think the control wire was?
2. Was the connector and robot body sturdy enough to evacuate the device by pulling its cord?
3. Do you think the wire had protection from interference? There was a lot if charges flying about...
4. Did you manage to fix image interference from the motors?
Feel free to ask LOT of questions, but let us answer to those four:
1. 15 meters as by Borovoi's book.
2. Yes. This in 75% cases is the plan.
3. That was a classical coaxial cable for video and multi-core for signals. There is no information on extra shielding.
4. Need to make a test if it actually occurs first.
@@ChernobylFamily No.04 - Interference occurs. A 18:07 there is an interference line pattern when you push motor buttons.
@@volo870 Right. We will work on that.
I love the dedication of some people, so nice
Well, Chernobyl for us is not a hobby, but a major part of life for a very, very long time, so...
Great Work 👍
Thank you!
Шикарний контент. Дякую!
Раді, що сподобалося!
Nice remake robot and working to fine :)
Thank you so much! Well, still some things to improve!
Awesom work.
thank you!
Merci pour tout vos vidéos mon copain, passer de merveilleuses Fêtes et pourquoi pas une superbe Année 2024! 🥳
MERCI BEAUCOUP!!!
Totally impressed.
This means much for us. Thank you.
It´s alive, it´s alive !! Great work !! Greetings !!
Thank you!
This is wonderful 😊
Thank you so much!
Wonderful stuff!
Thank you so much!
I would love to see this robot get one or two more period appropriate upgrades. Such a small robot has incredibly high track area and motor torque so I would imagine the original robot was incredibly mobile with new tracks and motors. I've seen a few different methods for making model tracks. Maybe you could dig up the old Soviet recipe or you could try revitalising the existing tracks? I really want to see a part 2 of this video with the design at its full potential. It also lingers in my mind that someday the Chernobyl containment area will be fully dismantled and they will start unearthing all these artefacts.
Well, we will try our best
😳 Awesome work
Thank you! Cheers!
That's simply fantastic
Thank you! Cheers!
I'm not sure if the show was accurate - but it seems if the radiation killed batteries and anything with a DC circuit. AC seemed unaffected. If fiber optics were available could they have built a (albeit crude) robot machine using induction motors and fiber optics (rather than electronic cameras)?
Gentlemen who design robots in Institute of NPP Safety formulated it shortly: "ideally, all electronics should be at operator's panel, while on robot only "dumb" components, such as motors and relays"
Nice story telling, nice reconstruction, nice jokes, nice job ! in short : Nice !
Thank you very much!
О, маю такий луноход, відновлений з радіокеруванням з нуля та музикою! Дяка за відео!
Круто! До речі, в оригіналі він дійсно міг бути радіокерованим, на корпусі є навіть виступ для антени р/к, але та версія коштувала суттєво дорожче.
@@ChernobylFamily Знаю, але от я не бачив вживу такий, у моїх знайомих на початку 90их навіть програмованого луноходу не було ні у кого (Запоріжжя). То може для дітей партійної еліти вони були доступні хіба 🤣 Я вставив плату з китайської іграшки на 27МГц (TX2B та RX2B мікросхеми), модуль МП3, підсилювач класу D та пару АКБ 18650. Саме геморне було полірнути отой ковпак, бо він був дуже покоцаний.
Finally, it's here! After so long!
yes, it took some effort...)
"Lunohod" This toy called "Lunohod". you are right, it was made on factory "67" or "Elektropribor". Now known like Hartron. This factory made control system for "Buran". And for military soviet rockets.
Yes, this is what we explained in the video (I believe you might have skipped)
So damn impressive ! Man, you are a genius
We are just a couple who dedicated their lives to Chornobyl research :) actually, I am writing you from there right now.
Stay tuned for more in January!
Was the camera image actually sideways? as it is usually relatively easy to rotate the deflection coils and make the image appear the right way up.
They obviously rotated the coils; we followed the approach "works - do not touch", as it took 3+ weeks to get at least some functionality.
Have you talked about the Chernobyl helicopter crash that happened you should do a video on that.
Well, that is pretty much well-studied story, but maybe in the future. It would be reasonable to add a surrounding context to it by explaining the works that have been performed at that moment.
Wow, this thing definitely worth to come to the Chernobyl museum one more time.
We still are working on the installation for it - but we will announce!
This Is So Awsome !
Thank you so much!
Soviet space toys are cool, i had one of those space rovers as a child
Thanks for sharing!
I have a radio controlled(no cord) version of that same toy, but the control layout on this one doesn't make much sense.
840 р это примерно 200 долл в начале 80х. В 1986 скорее всего еще меньше. 1200 долларов по курсу 60 копеек они могли стоить только в газете Известия
First like, then watch. BTW Unis typewriter is from Yugoslavia (Unis Sarajevo). I never seen it in red colour, only orange.
A funny thing, we jever seen them in any color than red :)