ROBOTICS & DIGITAL | TESTING MANIPULATOR DEVELOPMENT
VNS tooling up for robotics
Partnering with the supplier to adapt off-the-shelf software is opening up an accelerated development timeline for Veolia Nuclear Solutions as it works on an advanced remote tele-manipulator to support decommissioning of Fukushima. It’s an approach that allows VNS to focus on its core skills yet still leverage digital tooling
A PART OF VEOLIA GROUP, Veolia Nuclear Solutions (VNS), announced a collaboration agreement to deploy the Siteflow plat-form to support the design, execution, and functionality of its remotely operated systems. In particular, Siteflow software will be employed by VNS UK to facilitate the testing of their latest robotic arm. Designed for nuclear maintenance, this is a second-
generation teleoperated articulated arm and will build upon the outcomes of its predecessor, which is already undergoing final testing in Japan. It is expected to be a pivotal component in the future decommissioning of the Fukushima nuclear plant. VNS has been involved in work at Fukushima since October 2014 where its role includes the design and construction of long-range robotic arm systems to inspect the primary containment vessel of Unit 2. The system has a reach of more than 21 metres and its first task will be to deploy radiation and 3D sensors in locations inaccessible to humans. It will complete this through a single narrow opening in the containment vessel.
After a rigorous two-year testing programme, operational
on-site deployment of this first robotic arm is scheduled for later this year.
VNS will be using Siteflow to plan and record the testing and operation tasks for the second robotic arm, which will be used to test the deployment of tools to retrieve physical samples of the fuel debris. This second robotic arm will build upon the design of its predecessor. This more advanced system is due for deployment once initial investigation works are complete. Simon Delavalle, Veolia Nuclear Solutions Deputy Chief
Technical Officer, explains the origins of the tie in with Siteflow: “We developed something similar internally as a version of a software we needed. The use case for us is to use data capture and instructions capture for the operation of remote machinery. We want people in a control room to be able to follow a very qualified set of instructions for the operation of complex machines. It’s not about working on the site; it’s about working in the control room.” He continued: “All the functions that we were looking for about document control, security, quality control were already in the Siteflow software. We just had to tweak them, so it was relevant to the way we conducted operations on these machines. For us it was interesting because it’s not specific to Fukushima, it’s specific to the type of projects we do.” The Siteflow platform is more typically used as a workflow tool that supports repeatable functions that are consistent while recording progress and making sure that all the safety elements are complete. However, in this case the repeatability aspect was not required. “A lot of these projects we’re doing are one off or sometimes only one operation. During the preliminary studies, during testing and training, with this tool we can make sure that the data that we give the operators of the machine in that critical environment has been qualified. So it is that traceability and that continuity of the data review that is important, as well as the security and the confidence,” says Delavalle, adding that the key is “training the staff on developing the solution as we go along during the projects. This is a methodology that we’ve been using for the last 25 years. It just happened that Siteflow developed a professional tool that was qualified and that we could tweak.” Having assessed the Siteflow software, Veolia decided
Above: Phased Fuel Debris Retrieval Remotely Operated Arm System 28 | April 2024 |
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not to continue with their in-house software development. “We’re not a software developer. We don’t want to sell software. What we did is create a tool that we needed, but if someone does it better than us, more sustainably and more
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