Energid's Actin Control Software Enables Nuclear Inspection Robot in China
Posted: 2015-8-2
Energid Technologies today announced it has completed a major milestone
by deploying software on the Articulated Inspection Arm (AIA) robot
developed by the Institute for Magnetic Fusion Research (IRFM), of the
French Atomic Energy and Alternative Energies Commission (CEA), and the
Institute of Plasma Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences (ASIPP).
A tokamak is a plasma confinement device that holds great promise for
generating thermonuclear fusion. It uses a magnetic field to contain plasma,
which, due to its extreme temperature, cannot be contained by physical
material.
The AIA robot can inspect the tokamak while it is still online. It is a complex
snakelike robot that must navigate through tight quarters in an unfriendly
environment.
"The inside of the tokamak is a vacuum and can reach temperatures of 120
degrees C," said Eric Villedieu, the CEA IRFM Program Manager for the AIA
Project, "and the walls can be much hotter. If the robot touches anything it
risks serious injury."
Following a proof of concept done on the French Tokamak Tore Supra/WEST
in Cadarache, the robot was upgraded and will be tested on the Chinese
Tokamak EAST in Hefei before returning to France. The robot requires unique
and complex control as its many joints navigate around obstacles and the
toroidal shape of the tokamak. The control software must automatically avoid
collisions with all surfaces within the vessel and must compensate for the
dynamic properties of the robot, like sag.
CEA licensed Energid’s Actin software to be the brains of the AIA robot.
Energid, working in collaboration with AREVA and OPEN CASCADE, created
a turnkey application layer for intuitively controlling the robot and
dynamically avoiding collisions.
"Using Actin’s control system and feature-rich 3D environment made the
deployment of the robot much easier for the users," says Piyoosh Mukhija,
Lead Project Engineer for the AIA system at Energid. "It enables the
operators to quickly switch between different, powerful control modes that
allow a mix of interactive and automated movements."
The AIA Supervisor software features multiple innovations, including
gravitational sag compensation and generalized collision avoidance. The sag
compensation algorithm simulates the effect of gravitational forces on the
physical robot to compensate during live control operations. Collision
avoidance optimizes the position of the robot in real-time to ensure collision
free operation.
"We’re seeing increasingly complex robots being used for increasingly
complex tasks," says Neil Tardella, CEO of Energid Technologies. "This is
where Actin shines. And we are especially excited about this deployment in
China, the world’s largest and fastest growing market for robotics."
IFRM’s website can be found at irfm.cea.fr. OPEN CASCADE’s website can
be found at opencascade.org. Energid’s website can be found at
www.energid.com.
About Energid Technologies
Energid Technologies develops advanced software and robotic systems for
the aerospace, agriculture, manufacturing, transportation, defense, and
medical industries. Energid’s Actin® software is a powerful control
framework and operating system for commercial, industrial, and mission
critical robots that is sold as a cross platform application and extensible
software toolkit. Energid specializes in the sensing, control, and simulation of
complex systems.
by deploying software on the Articulated Inspection Arm (AIA) robot
developed by the Institute for Magnetic Fusion Research (IRFM), of the
French Atomic Energy and Alternative Energies Commission (CEA), and the
Institute of Plasma Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences (ASIPP).
A tokamak is a plasma confinement device that holds great promise for
generating thermonuclear fusion. It uses a magnetic field to contain plasma,
which, due to its extreme temperature, cannot be contained by physical
material.
The AIA robot can inspect the tokamak while it is still online. It is a complex
snakelike robot that must navigate through tight quarters in an unfriendly
environment.
"The inside of the tokamak is a vacuum and can reach temperatures of 120
degrees C," said Eric Villedieu, the CEA IRFM Program Manager for the AIA
Project, "and the walls can be much hotter. If the robot touches anything it
risks serious injury."
Following a proof of concept done on the French Tokamak Tore Supra/WEST
in Cadarache, the robot was upgraded and will be tested on the Chinese
Tokamak EAST in Hefei before returning to France. The robot requires unique
and complex control as its many joints navigate around obstacles and the
toroidal shape of the tokamak. The control software must automatically avoid
collisions with all surfaces within the vessel and must compensate for the
dynamic properties of the robot, like sag.
CEA licensed Energid’s Actin software to be the brains of the AIA robot.
Energid, working in collaboration with AREVA and OPEN CASCADE, created
a turnkey application layer for intuitively controlling the robot and
dynamically avoiding collisions.
"Using Actin’s control system and feature-rich 3D environment made the
deployment of the robot much easier for the users," says Piyoosh Mukhija,
Lead Project Engineer for the AIA system at Energid. "It enables the
operators to quickly switch between different, powerful control modes that
allow a mix of interactive and automated movements."
The AIA Supervisor software features multiple innovations, including
gravitational sag compensation and generalized collision avoidance. The sag
compensation algorithm simulates the effect of gravitational forces on the
physical robot to compensate during live control operations. Collision
avoidance optimizes the position of the robot in real-time to ensure collision
free operation.
"We’re seeing increasingly complex robots being used for increasingly
complex tasks," says Neil Tardella, CEO of Energid Technologies. "This is
where Actin shines. And we are especially excited about this deployment in
China, the world’s largest and fastest growing market for robotics."
IFRM’s website can be found at irfm.cea.fr. OPEN CASCADE’s website can
be found at opencascade.org. Energid’s website can be found at
www.energid.com.
About Energid Technologies
Energid Technologies develops advanced software and robotic systems for
the aerospace, agriculture, manufacturing, transportation, defense, and
medical industries. Energid’s Actin® software is a powerful control
framework and operating system for commercial, industrial, and mission
critical robots that is sold as a cross platform application and extensible
software toolkit. Energid specializes in the sensing, control, and simulation of
complex systems.
