Integration of a manipulator system with a mobile vehicle to perform multiple tasks in a hazardous environment

The closure of the Magnox Reactor Nuclear Power Station at Trawsfynydd in North Wales was announced in Summer 1993. Since these reactors are to be decommissioned the opportunity is available for destructive investigations to be carried out on the material properties of the reactor pressure vessel (RPV) welds at the ''South Pole'' location of the vessel. A variety of track laying remotely operated vehicles (ROV) and support equipment is required to accomplish insulation removal and sample acquisition on four of these welds at Trawsfynydd. This paper describes the integration of a Schilling Gamma II manipulator system (with tool interchange), the UK Robotics Advanced Teleoperation Controller and the TELEGRIP (tGRIP/IGRIP) system with an ROV platform to undertake the weld sampling project. It also describes the particular system developments required at Schilling, UK Robotics and Magnox Electric to satisfy the overall requirements of the project. (UK)