ITER gets giant robots

The divertor parts of the ITER tokamak will have to sustain high radiation levels and very high temperatures so it is planned to replace them 3 times at least during the whole operating life of ITER. An imposing robot of 67 tonnes able to handle components of about a few tens of tonnes and to position them within a tolerance of 1 millimeter has been designed. 3 of these robots will be dedicated to handling the 54 divertor parts, this work will have to be done in the dark for no camera can sustain such rates of radiation. (A.C.)