Based on the Lectures given during the Eurocourse on 'Teleoperation: Numerical Simulation and Experimental Validation' held at the Joint Research Centre Ispra, Italy, November 18-22, 1991

The demand for safety in modern industrial processes has come to involve an increasing demand for teleoperated devices in order to avoid the exposure of humans to hazardous conditions during the operation, maintenance under normal or abnormal conditions, and decommissioning of equipment after its useful lifetime has terminated. An important landmark for teleoperations has been reached in the 1990s as the first commercial nuclear power stations reach the end of their useful life. Simultaneously, progress in the work on controlled thermonuclear fusion demonstrates the importance of teleoperation in the assembly of future reactors as well as in their maintenance and decommissioning. Teleoperation: Numerical Simulation and Experimental Validation presents the fundamentals and the advances in simulation and experimentation in the teleoperations field, dealing with such matters as path planning, calibration, autonomy, safety, and radiation hardening. The book addresses users working in the field of engineering R & D and plant operation management. Students in schools of engineering, too, will find much of value since the book addresses topics of acute practical interest in an area that can only grow in importance. Front Matter....Pages i-vii Some Key Issues in Remote Handling....Pages 1-5 Teleman: A European Communities Robotics Programme for the Nuclear Industry....Pages 7-13 Practical Experience Using Teleoperated Technology: Tele-Operated Devices Used in an Accelerator Complex....Pages 15-20 Artificial Realities Techniques for Teleoperation of Robotic Systems....Pages 21-25 Robot Motion Planning: A Survey....Pages 27-39 Autonomous Mobile Robots and Teleoperation....Pages 41-53 Kinematic Calibration in Remote Handling and Teleoperation Environment....Pages 55-86 Transporters for Teleoperations in Jet....Pages 87-107 Nuclear Teleoperation Particular Challenges in Decommissioning Applications....Pages 109-138 Manipulators Mascot IV Used in Jet and Prospects of Enhancement....Pages 139-161 Position Sensing for Advanced Teleoperation in Nuclear Environment....Pages 163-194 Advanced Telerobotic Systems Single-Master Multi-Slave Manipulator System and Cellular Robotic System....Pages 195-208 Introduction to Robotics and Computer Vision....Pages 209-241 The Net Remote Maintenance Programme....Pages 243-258 Back Matter....Pages 259-266 The demand for safety in modern industrial processes has come to involve an increasing demand for teleoperated devices in order to avoid the exposure of humans to hazardous conditions during the operation, maintenance under normal or abnormal conditions, and decommissioning of equipment after its useful lifetime has terminated. An important landmark for teleoperations has been reached in the 1990s as the first commercial nuclear power stations reach the end of their useful life. Simultaneously, progress in the work on controlled thermonuclear fusion demonstrates the importance of teleoperation in the assembly of future reactors as well as in their maintenance and decommissioning. __Teleoperation: Numerical Simulation and Experimental Validation__ Based on the Lectures given during the Eurocourse on 'Teleoperation: Numerical Simulation and Experimental Validation' held at the Joint Research Centre Ispra, Italy, November 18-22, 1991