Speaker
Cephise Louison
(IRFM)
Description
The development of fusion plants is more and more challenging. Compared to previous fusion experimental devices, integration constraints, maintenance and safety requirements are key parameters in the ITER project. Components are designed in parallel and we must consider integration, assembly and maintenance issues, which might have an impact on the overall design. That also implies to consider the feasibility of installation and maintenance of elements by operators.
Virtual reality (VR) provides tools to optimize such integration. In 2010, the CEA IRFM decided to take the gamble of using VR tools during the life cycle (from design to operation) of a fusion component. The VR platform is intensively used in the design and assembly studies of WEST components. In particular, the assessment of the interventions of the operator is part of the process.
To study this aspect, the use of static manikins is quite frequent in the industry. However, more complex studies like the feasibility of assembly and maintenance tasks in complex and very confined environments require enhanced features such as dynamic and biomechanically realistic virtual humans. We also study the contribution of tactile feedback to improve physical presence and interaction in the virtual environment (VE), which is very important for the validation of feasibility and the ergonomic of posture and gesture of the operator involves. In particular, we showed that a better behavior regarding physical element of the VE can be obtained with both the presence of a dynamic representation of the subject's body and a tactile feedback.
In this paper, we will present integration studies involving operators and recent advances in the assessment of maintenance feasibility.
Co-authors
Cephise Louison
(IRFM, CEA, Saint Paul Lez Durance, France;Institute of Movement Sciences, Aix-Marseille University, CNRS, Marseille, France)
Dephine Keller
(IRFM, CEA, Saint Paul Lez Durance, France)
Fabien Ferlay
(IRFM, CEA, Saint Paul Lez Durance, France)
R. Daniel Mestre
(Institute of Movement Sciences, Aix-Marseille University, CNRS, Marseille, France)
