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#428367 Fusion for Energy signs multi-million ...
Fusion for Energy signs multi-million deal with Airbus Safran Launchers, Nuvia Limited and Cegelec CEM to develop robotics equipment for ITER
The contract for a value of nearly 100 million EUR is considered to be the single biggest robotics deal to date in the field of fusion energy. The state of the art equipment will form part of ITER, the world’s largest experimental fusion facility and the first in history to produce 500 MW. The prestigious project brings together seven parties (China, Europe, Japan, India, the Republic of Korea, the Russian Federation and the USA) which represent 50% of the world’s population and 80% of the global GDP.
The collaboration between Fusion for Energy (F4E), the EU organisation managing Europe’s contribution to ITER, with a consortium of companies consisting of Airbus Safran Launchers (France-Germany), Nuvia Limited (UK) and Cegelec CEM (France), companies of the VINCI Group, will run for a period of seven years. The UK Atomic Energy Authority (UK), Instituto Superior Tecnico (Portugal), AVT Europe NV (Belgium) and Millennium (France) will also be part of this deal which will deliver remotely operated systems for the transportation and confinement of components located in the ITER vacuum vessel.
The contract carries also a symbolic importance marking the signature all procurement packages managed by Europe in the field of remote handling. Carlo Damiani, F4E’s Project Manager for ITER Remote Handling Systems, explained that “F4E’s stake in ITER offers an unparalleled opportunity to companies and laboratories to develop expertise and an industrial culture in fusion reactors’ maintenance.”
Cut-away image of the ITER machine showing the casks at the three levels of the ITER machine. ITER IO © (Remote1 web). Photo Credit: f4e.europa.euIllustration of lorry next to an ITER cask. F4E © (Remote 2 web). Photo Credit: f4e.europa.euAerial view of the ITER construction site, October 2016. F4E © (ITER site aerial Oct). Photo Credit: f4e.europa.eu
Why ITER requires Remote Handling?
Remote handling refers to the high-tech systems that will help us maintain and repair the ITER machine. The space where the bulky equipment will operate is limited and the exposure of some of the components to radioactivity, prohibit any manual intervention inside the vacuum vessel.
What will be delivered through this contract?
The transfer of components from the ITER vacuum vessel to the Hot Cell building, where they will be deposited for maintenance, will need to be carried out with the help of massive double-door containers known as casks. According to current estimates, 15 of these casks will need to be manufactured and in their largest configuration they will measure 8.5 m x 3.7 m x 2.6 m approaching 100 tonnes when transporting the heaviest components. These enormous “boxes”, resembling to a conventional lorry container, will be remotely operated as they move between the different levels and buildings of the machine. Apart from the transportation and confinement of components, the ITER Cask and Plug Remote Handling System will also ensure the installation of the remote handling equipment entering into the vacuum vessel to pick up the components to be removed. The technologies underpinning this system will encompass a variety of high-tech skills and comply with nuclear safety requirements. A proven manufacturing experience in similar fields and the development of bespoke systems to perform mechanical transfers will be essential.
Background information
MEMO: Fusion for Energy signs multi-million deal with Airbus Safran Launchers, Nuvia Limited and Cegelec CEM to develop robotics equipment for ITER
Multimedia
To see how the ITER Remote Handling System will operate click on clip 1 and clip 2
To see the progress of the ITER construction site click here
To take a virtual tour on the ITER construction site click here
Image captions
Cut-away image of the ITER machine showing the casks at the three levels of the ITER machine. ITER IO © (Remote1 web)
Illustration of lorry next to an ITER cask. F4E © (Remote 2 web)
Aerial view of the ITER construction site, October 2016. F4E © (ITER site aerial Oct)
The consortium of companies
The consortium combines the space expertise of Airbus Safran Launchers, adapted to this extreme environment to ensure safe conditions for the ITER teams; with Nuvia comes a wealth of nuclear experience dating back to the beginnings of the UK Nuclear industry. Nuvia has delivered solutions to some of the world’s most complex nuclear challenges; and with Cegelec CEM as a specialist in mechanical projects for French nuclear sector, which contributes over 30 years in the nuclear arena, including turnkey projects for large scientific installations, as well as the realisation of complex mechanical systems.
Fusion for Energy
Fusion for Energy (F4E) is the European Union’s organisation for Europe’s contribution to ITER.
One of the main tasks of F4E is to work together with European industry, SMEs and research organisations to develop and provide a wide range of high technology components together with engineering, maintenance and support services for the ITER project.
F4E supports fusion R&D initiatives through the Broader Approach Agreement signed with Japan and prepares for the construction of demonstration fusion reactors (DEMO).
F4E was created by a decision of the Council of the European Union as an independent legal entity and was established in April 2007 for a period of 35 years.
Its offices are in Barcelona, Spain.
http://www.fusionforenergy.europa.eu
http://www.youtube.com/user/fusionforenergy
http://twitter.com/fusionforenergy
http://www.flickr.com/photos/fusionforenergy
ITER
ITER is a first-of-a-kind global collaboration. It will be the world’s largest experimental fusion facility and is designed to demonstrate the scientific and technological feasibility of fusion power. It is expected to produce a significant amount of fusion power (500 MW) for about seven minutes. Fusion is the process which powers the sun and the stars. When light atomic nuclei fuse together form heavier ones, a large amount of energy is released. Fusion research is aimed at developing a safe, limitless and environmentally responsible energy source.
Europe will contribute almost half of the costs of its construction, while the other six parties to this joint international venture (China, Japan, India, the Republic of Korea, the Russian Federation and the USA), will contribute equally to the rest.
The site of the ITER project is in Cadarache, in the South of France.
http://www.iter.org
For Fusion for Energy media enquiries contact:
Aris Apollonatos
E-mail: aris.apollonatos@f4e.europa.eu
Tel: + 34 93 3201833 + 34 649 179 42
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Posted in Human Robots
#428040 Servosila Robotic Arms launched
Servosila, a robotics technology company, announced a launch of a new line of robotic arm manipulators specifically targeted at mobile robotics market.
“Servosila Robotic Arms are the first manipulators specifically designed for mobile robots,” – said the company’s spokesperson, – “it is very easy to retrofit any existing robotic chassis or a torso with a Servosila Robotic Arm”.
Servosila Robotic Arms are attachable payload modules for mobile service robots or other robotic platforms. Servosila Robotic Arms shall typically be mounted on a chassis or a torso of a mobile robot and be powered by an on-board power supply system of the host robotic platform.
The robotic arms can be used both outdoors and indoors. The arms are water-tight, dust-proof and function properly in the rain and in the snow. The arms are designed to withstand impacts, collisions with obstacles and, in general, the harsh treatment so common to mobile robotics applications.
The servo drives and external electrical connectors of the robotic arms are water-tight and dust-proof (IP68 rating). The entire arm can be occasionally submersed in water without any adverse effects on its performance. The robotic arms may be operated in cold or hot weather.
Mobile robots tend to bump into things and hit obstacles while on the move. The harsh nature of outdoor mobile robotics applications caused a profound effect on the design of Servosila Robotic Arms, especially on the internal structure of servo drives and their harmonic reduction gears.
There are no exposed cables on the outside of the robotic arms that could be torn off when a mobile robot moves through bushes or forests.
Numerous protection measures built into electronic servo controllers and mechanical parts of Servosila Robotic Arms ensure reliable operation on-board of outdoor mobile service robots.
Servosila Robotic Arms are lightweight by design. For a given lifting capability, Servosila Robotic Arms have a significantly lower weight than their industrial counterparts. The lower weight of a Servosila Robotic Arm enables a mobile robot equipped with the arm to operate longer on a single battery charge, keep its center of gravity lower for better balance, climb stairs easier or have a superior mobility.
When not in an active use, Servosila Robotic Arms can folded into a very compact form that doesn’t occupy much space on the top of a robotic chassis or on the side of a torso. This feature protects the robotic arm of a mobile robot in case of an unexpected collision with an obstacle or whenever a rough terrain is encountered by the mobile robotic platform. The compact folded form also comes handy during transportation.
By folding its robotic arm into the compact form, the robot frees up its working area for other payloads to operate in. This is useful in case the robot is equipped with additional payloads other than the robotic arm.
www.servosila.com/en/robotic-arms
Photo Credits: Servosila Limited (Hong Kong)
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Posted in Human Robots