S. Jimenez D. Bookless R. Nath W.J. Leong
In order to reach commercially-relevant availability future fusion power plants must have highly efficient maintenance systems. On the other hand, as radiation levels increase so too will the number of maintenance tasks that must be performed without human access. To meet these conflicting constraints remote maintenance systems must significantly…
Preprint PublishedR Skilton Y Gao
Present inspection techniques in place at the Joint European Torus (JET), as well as some of those planned for ITER make use of robotically deployed inspection systems, which typically collect data for offline analysis. This can be a slow, laborious process with subjective or error-prone results. There are significant benefits to be gained through …
Preprint PublishedAlessandro Altobelli Ozan Tokatli Robert Skilton
In the last decades, several approaches have been presented to accomplish tasks with a robot or autonomous systems in a glovebox, nevertheless, in nuclear facilities, risky operations are still executed by humans that guarantee a high manipulation capability and dexterity. Inside the gloveboxes, robotic devices have to operate in cluttered envir…
PreprintE. Flynn P. Cooper O. Crofts A. Loving Z. Vizvary A. Wilde
DEMO is a key part of the EU fusion roadmap, where the programme is reaching the end of the pre-conceptual phase with a gate review in 2020. As part of the work to complete this phase, eight Key Design Integration Issues (KDII’s) have been identified as critical to the programme. Within KDII#1 (wall protection limiters) the feasibility of the Inn…
Preprint PublishedJing Na Jun Zhao Kaiqiang Zhang Yongfeng Lv
This article presents and practically validates an identifier-critic-based approximate dynamic programming (ADP) method to online address the optimal tracking control problem for nonlinear continuous-time unknown systems. The imposed assumption on precisely known system dynamics is obviated via a neural network (NN) identifier. A static contro…
Preprint PublishedSalvador Pacheco-Gutierrez Ipek Caliskanelli Robert Skilton
Remote handling systems are commonly used for decommissioning and maintenance of hazardous environments, specially in the nuclear sector. The necessity for a more realistic and accurate user interaction with the remote environment has led research towards the usage of immersive technologies such as augmented and virtual reality. In order for thi…
Preprint PublishedSamuel Jimenez Guy Burroughes
The extreme environmental conditions inside future nuclear fusion power plants will mean that maintenance activities must be performed without human access. Current teleoperation paradigms do not enable sufficiently fast maintenance cycles, and automation is seen as a potential solution. Transitioning to an automated maintenance scheme will requ…
PreprintSalua Hamaza André Farinha Hai-Nguyen Nguyen Mirko Kovac
Research into remote sensing tools for environmentalmonitoring is an essential aspect for ensuring a healthy anthriving biosphere under the canopy, but also for preventingforest-related hazards from occurring. The challenges associatedwith forestry robotics are posed by the environment itself, asforests are wide-spread areas with a high density …
Preprint PublishedNikola Petkov Huapeng Wu Roger Powell
The DEMO remote maintenance system (RMS) will have a significant role in keeping the power plant operational, and therefore, would have a large impact on its economic feasibility. The identification of impending mechanical failures of the RMS equipment during active maintenance operations is crucial if unscheduled and or unplanned recovery and resc…
PublishedKeelan Keogh Steven Craig Stewart Hockley Paul Talbot Chris Lamb
As part of the development work performed under the ITER Robotic Test Facility (IRTF) the development and substantiation of the maintenance strategy for the Vacuum Vessel Pressure Suppression System (VVPSS) must be investigated. The VVPSS is a key safety aspect of the vacuum vessel of ITER. It ensures after a coolant leak, and subsequent pressure e…
Preprint Published