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ALL ABOUT REMOTE HANDLING

What is remote handling ?
Remote handling is the method by which manual tasks can be performed without any human involvement actually at the work site. This is most likely to crop up in situations where some equipment has been put into an area that becomes inaccessible or unsafe for humans to enter. The need for remote handling will arise when the equipment then needs to be maintained or in some way modified. Traditional application areas for this type of technology are in the Nuclear, Underwater, Defence and Space sectors but there is an increase in the use of remote handling in the Medical sector and even in Manufacturing.
In the Nuclear sector remote handling has been used for decades to enable maintenance and repair work to be carried out on radioactive components and waste.
In the Underwater industries various pipework systems and valves have been installed below the surface of the sea. It is vital to inspect these and to repair or replace them as they wear out or become damaged. This sort of work can, and often is, done by divers but at increased depths it is far safer if this is done using an unmanned remotely operated vehicle (ROV) which is lowered into the water and controlled by an operator sitting in the ship on the surface.
In the Defence sector the Bomb disposal ROV has been seen on many occasions in counter-terrorism applications. Of course the ROV is controlled by a man who can see the device using cameras.
In the Space sector the NASA Space Shuttle remote manipulator has been successfully used to manipulate a wide range of satellites.Also the deployment and use of the Mars Lander ROV demonstrated the extent to which remote handling can reach beyond our world.
In Medicine, doctors are making use of remote handling tools for keyhole surgery and internal inspections.

How complicated are Remote Handling Systems?
Remote handling systems vary in complexity and price from very simple mechanical “lazy” tongs to highly complex systems such as the multi-million dollar Space Shuttle robot arm. The simplest types of manipulators are designed to be no more that short extensions of a human arm and hand. The human operator has to be within the vicinity of the work site but uses the manipulator to avoid actually touching the objects. This was one of the original applications in the nuclear industry when small radioactive items could be safely handled by keeping the operators a minimum distance away from the item.
A more commonplace simple application is the use of cranes for the construction industry. The cranes are operated by a human to be able to manipulate items too heavy for humans and to assemble large structures otherwise impossible to reach by humans alone.
The more complex remote handling systems are an integration of many elements from various technological disciplines. For example the remote handling system used for maintenance at the JET Nuclear Fusion experiment includes robotic devices, advanced computers, virtual reality, digital and analogue television, audio, lasers, videogrammetry systems and a wide range of specialist cutting and welding equipment. The technological expertise required of the personnel to design and operate these type of systems covers mechanical engineering, electrical and electronic engineering, real time software, ergonomics, pneumatics, hydraulics and welding and cutting.

Remote handling or Robotics?
Remote handling is not Robotics. A robot in today’s common usage is a reprogrammable machine that can perform repeated sequences of operations for long periods of time without human intervention. People working at the forefront of robotics research will argue that Advanced Robotics includes and encompasses the areas of vision, traction, manipulation, image processing and artificial intelligence to the extent that robots could become self sufficient and decision making. The ultimate robot being one that has the intelligent decision making and intuitive abilities of a human being coupled with the information storage, strength, repeatability, consistency and expendability of a computer based machine.
Remote handling always involves a human being within the process. In effect the handling device is a manipulator not a robot. The majority of the remote handling tasks can only be done by making full use of the intuitive abilities and intelligence of a human being. As a result the manipulators are merely a sophisticated and rugged tool for the human operator to use to perform various dexterous tasks.
Manipulators for remote handling ideally need to be 'invisible' to the operator. The operator needs to be able to concentrate on the task he is performing without being distracted or delayed by a slow or cumbersome manipulator. When a human being performs a task he does not have to worry about the speed, bandwidth or reflected inertia of his arm. In any remote handling application, the operator should be able to move the manipulator as if it were his own arm.
The manipulator also needs to be transportable into and around the work area.
These requirements point to the main difference between remote handling manipulators and Robots wherein a typical robot will weigh around 10-50 times its load capacity whilst a typical remote handling manipulator will weigh around 5 times its load capacity. The light weight of a remote handling manipulator results in a more slender and easier to move arm structure. The modern manipulators make use of robot motion control technology and so incorporate many of the features you would expect to see in a robot arm.
A good remote handling system creates a sense of Telepresence – the feeling of the operator actually being where the handling is being done.

What is the future for remote handling?
Remote handling could be applied to all sorts of new areas in the future. The advantages of remote handling are evident when you imagine the intelligence of a human coupled with the ruggedness, flexibility, strength, power, control, consistency and reliability of a machine. The key to a successful remote handling application is to allow a human operator to perform the tasks with the assistance of modern technology but taking care to ease their physical and intellectual burden and to make this possible from a safe and comfortable working environment.
The potential is there for application of remote handling in an increasingly wide range of fields where personnel safety and comfort is becoming more and more of an issue for companies as a result of increasingly demanding Health and Safety legislation.
Remote handling can be applied to any work areas where personnel safety is an issue, where the working environment is unpredictable or unstructured, where scale of the tasks is too large or too small for a human to achieve without assistance or where the labour cost is prohibitive but full automation is not possible or appropriate.

Examples where remote handling can bring significant benefits
As food for thought we list here a number, but not exhaustive, set of new examples where remote handling methods are, or could be, applied:
Construction Industry
- Inspection and cleaning of large buildings
- Inspection & repair of bridges
- Semi-automatic digging of building foundations
- Semi-automatic road laying
Emergency Services
- Inspection in fire situations
- Inspection and clean-up after chemical spills
- Manipulation of heavy objects after natural disasters
Aerospace
- Cleaning of aircraft
- De-icing of aircraft
- Paint removal & re-painting of aircraft
- Internal inspection of aircraft structures
- Repair work inside aircraft fuel tanks
Petrochemical Industry
- Maintenance and cleaning inside storage tanks
- Maintenance of plant without interruption to plant operation
- Working on plant where there is a danger of explosion
Defence Sector
- Battlefield assessment
- Mine clearing
- Emergency battlefield surgery
- Handling of radiographic sources
Food Industry
- Handling of items under clean conditions
- Handling of hot or cold items
Transport sector
- Construction of transport tunnels
- Inspection and repair of railway rails and sleepers
Forestry
- Log handling Water Industry
- Inspection of tunnels and pipeworks
Electricity Supply Industry
- Maintenance on live power cables Mining
- Cutting of ore at the mine face
- Transfer of ore from the mine face to the surface
- Construction of mine tunnels and support structures
Scientific Research
- Taking samples in the Arctic or Antarctica
- Surveying on the ocean beds
- Surveying on other planets such as Mars
- Handling dangerous substances
- Handling very large, small or microscopic items
- Assembly of complex experimental apparatus such as for particle accelerators
- Repair and maintenance of experiments containing hazardous materials

How can I get involved with remote handling?
This depends on what interests you have and your level of education and experience.
As you can see from this web site the world of remote handling offers a very wide range of technological and management challenges.
For students and graduates you can get involved in remote handling from any of the major disciplines:
- Electrical Engineering
- Electronic Engieering
- Mechanical Engineering
- Mechatronics
- Software Engineering
- Computer Science
- Systems Engineering
- Management Science