| Paper | Title | Page |
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| THD002 | A Mobile Platform for Remote Inspection Inside ESRF Tunnel | 907 |
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A light source has to provide beam 24h/24h x 7 days. Numerous sensors have been installed to detect hardware failures, fires, water leaks etc' Unfortunately, with aging we are sometimes faced to false alarms. Then, visual inspection is sometime necessary to confirm or evaluate an alarm. ESRF in collaboration with the Tampere University of Technology (TUT/IHA)* and expertize from ROVIR** is developing a autonomous vehicle remotely controlled via WiFi. It is able to travel all along the tunnel, with beam ON, and transmit live image of a high definition video camera. Thanks to a virtual reality software, the operator is able to send the platform to any location of the tunnel. The platform should be able to get energy autonomy, to automatically recharge its battery, to react to unforeseen situations, to avoid collisions, and to do self learning of its environment. One of the goals of the collaboration is to design this tool in such a way that it can become a commercial product available at low cost for any light source. This paper describes the hardware and the software issues of this platform and describes how ESRF and TUT are collaborating in view of building this tool.
* Department of Intelligent Hydraulics and Automation http://www.iha.tut.fi |