RICA'S evolutions

The CEA express the need to investigate blind cells with a high level of radiation so where human can’t survive. The RICA project is born. It is named RICA for “Robot d’Inspection de Cellule Aveugle” which means blind cells inspection robot. This robot will be modified to cover new needs indeed by the investigation of new cells and different modules to carry. In this article we will review the three previous RICA version which conduct to our project the RICA IV.

RICA I

To create the RICA I the CEA work with CYBERIA to modify “HUGGY” robot and adapt it to the nuclear environment. It also have to be modified to manage the camera and to add a radiation level censor.

The RICA I is divided in two sub-systems: the motorisation and the camera bloc.

A wheel have been added under the camera to ensure a good mobility on flat ground and allow the pilot to take picture of all the blind cells.

This robot have been used in April 2007 in order to examine a cell and especially tanks which contain radioactive products. The RICA I is narrow because for this inspection it was introduce in the cell through a coring.

After this inspection the CEA express new needs. It appears that the wheel under the camera bloc is not enough efficient and the robot have to be more mobile with better crossing capabilities. It was also very difficult to decontaminate the wheels and the coaxial cable. So new technical solutions have to be found.

RICA II

The RICA II is the improved version of the RICA I and take into account feedbacks from previous inspections.

The RICA II is still composed of two sub-systems: the camera bloc and the motorisation. But now the difference is that these two parts are assembled to form a tank.

At the end of 2007 several tests have been done and the RICA II satisfied the new requirements of the CEA.

RICA III

The RICA III is also an evolution of the RICA I and II. You can find a precise description of this robot on our blog, please follow this LINK.

This robot was made because the CEA need to inspect other blind cells with difficult access and because they want to carry more precise camera or a robotic arm.  So the crossing and the transportation capabilities of the RICA II was sufficient.

RICA IV

The RICA III is aging and in operation for more than eight years now so the needs of the CEA have changed and the RICA III performances are not sufficient.

That’s why the CEA request them to improve RICA robot and create the version IV. The first goal is to improve crossing capabilities. The RICA IV have to cross obstacles in step configuration with the following dimensions:

This robot also have to go under an obstacle which is 30 cm from the ground, it have to transport heavy sub-systems (gamma camera, robotic arm, …), these sub-systems need to be easily changed, it can’t weigh more than 100 kg, have to resist from important radiation, the command system have to be improved to be more ergonomic, etc. This robot will be used in a very aggressive place with a lots of constraints which lead to a complex design.

So our work will be difficult for this project and we need robust methods to design this new robot like system engineering and all the expertise of our school.

Nuclear activities in France

    France started nuclear production in 1956 building the first nuclear reactor “Uranium Naturel Graphite Gaz” (or “UNGG”) in Marcoule.

    It was the beginning of the electronuclear program launched by “Electricité de France” the national provider of electricity in order to ensure a large electricity production.

    After the success of the first UNGG reactor, six reactors were built making electricity production of a unity grown from 70MW (Mega Watt) to 540MW.

    This electronuclear program leaded France as the second world producer of nuclear electricity, even if some major crisis likes the Tchernobyl explosion in 1986 has slowed down the development.

    In fact, France government and E.D.F. had to think about the next generation of nuclear reactor in order to reduce the risk of major crisis, and ensure a bigger electricity production.

    Considering this, France and UE launched the EPR (European Pressured Reactor) between 1990 and 2000.

    The difficulty of this project leaded to important delays (first French reactor should work in 2018 instead of 2012 initially), and the cost is actually of 10.5 billion euros…

Cooperative robots

“We all do better when we work together. Our differences do matter, but our common humanity matters more.”

― Bill Clinton

We will put aside the humanity for now but, the rest of this quote pictures well the subject of this article. As we said in an older post, blind cells are very old rooms. Since their construction, a lot of scientific experimentations took place here over the years. The result of this is that the ground of the cells are filled with a lot of garbage and contaminated dust.  Even for a tank robot it's hard to move in this kind of environment and it can also cause contamination.

So an important need is highlighted here and it is to clean the way before the dismantling robot RICA. Implementing this would avoid the potential surface contamination of the robot. It will improve the survival of  electrical components and simplify the clean-up process of the robot.

One solution to answer this need is to add some pushing robots that will have to push the objects out of RICA’s path. Those little robots will have to collaborate with each others to help the RICA to move properly in the cell.

Therefore the realisation of those little robots was a subproject of the big project RICA IV that our class has to realise. During our first year of formation we had to create the first prototype of those cooperative robots. This first prototype was an academic project to make us apply our knowledge in programming and automation.

The specifications asks that five robots must be used, they're disposed in before the RICA in a row like we can see hereunder.

The central robot has to control its position considering the RICA's, it has to stay before the RICA at a settled distance without losing the dismantling robot. Each of the four side robots is guided by the one who move before it, to their left for the robots located on the right and at their right for the ones located on the left. Each robot has to be able to work in any position of the row, so they have to work in different modes that can be switched easily.

The class was divided in 5 groups, each group had to create one robot, they had to work together and with the RICA.

Unfortunately we did finished this project with four robots instead of five because a group had Human Ressource problems. In the end all the four robots were working and were physically different, it illustrates the distinct points of view of each group.

The next step to improve those robots would be to set up a wireless communication between them and an artificial intelligence to get real autonomous robots that can organize each other without human help.

[soon : link to video of robots working together]

[soon : link to robots’ realization]