New MA 23 master-slave manipulators with servo control and force feedback. Their application in routine work and in scheduled and exceptional operations

Manipulators of this type manufactured 10-15 years ago were not a success, their widespread introduction having been prevented by their excessive weight, too low capacity, too extensive electronics and high price. The MA 22 system, based on the Virgule device, led to the development of a new technology which combines high reliability with excellent performance, very small electronics and high-torque d.c. motors. The second generation, MA 23, is characterized by a substantially improved mechanism, enabling maximum advantage to be derived from the servo control and making it possible to reproduce, at unlimited distance and with very high slave strength, the dexterity displaced by light master-slave manipulators on the operator side. The authors describe the equipment and indicate the various possibilites for its use in facilities. Long-term development and testing is also being directed towards under-water operation and industrial automatic manipulation. The equipment described opens up a totally new potential for the development of remote-controlled intervention devices, and the authors refer to work on these lines in the Federal Republic of Germany and in France. The research and development effort will also be concerned with penetration into inaccessible parts of facilities. (author)