Fusion Engineering and Design 87 (2012) 1611–1615

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Fusion Engineering and Design

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/fusengdes

An integrated architecture for the ITER RH control system

David Thomas Hamilton ∗ , Alessandro Tesini
ITER Organization, Route de Vinon, 13115 St. Paul-lez-Durance, France

h i g h l i g h t s

 Control system architecture integrating ITER remote handling equipment systems.

 Standard control system architecture for remote handling equipment systems.
 Research and development activities to validate control system architecture.
 Standardization studies to select standard parts for control system architecture.

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: The ITER remote handling (RH) system has been divided into 7 major equipment system procurements
Received 20 March 2012 that deliver complete systems (operator interfaces, equipment controllers, and equipment) according
Accepted 14 May 2012 to task oriented functional specifications. Each equipment system itself is an assembly of transporters,
Available online 4 June 2012
power manipulators, telemanipulators, vehicular systems, cameras, and tooling with a need for con-
trollers and operator interfaces.
Keywords:
From an operational perspective, the ITER RH systems are bound together by common control rooms,
ITER
operations team, and maintenance team; and will need to achieve, to a varying degree, synchronization
Remote
Maintenance of operations, co-operation on tasks, hand-over of components, and sharing of data and resources. The
Control separately procured RH systems must, therefore, be integrated to form a unified RH system for operation
Architecture from the RH control rooms.
Standards The RH system will contain a heterogeneous mix of specially developed RH systems and off-the-shelf
RH equipment and parts. The ITER Organization approach is to define a control system architecture that
supports interoperable heterogeneous modules, and to specify a standard set of modules for each system
to implement within this architecture. Compatibility with standard parts for selected modules is required
to limit the complexity for operations and maintenance. A key requirement for integrating the control
system modules is interoperability, and no module should have dependencies on the implementation
details of other modules.
The RH system is one of the ITER Plant systems that are integrated and coordinated through the
hierarchical structure of the ITER CODAC system. It is distinguished from other Plant systems by the
man-in-the-loop nature of RH operations and the need for control rooms at a level below the main con-
trol room. The RH control system architecture has been designed to also support the central monitoring
and coordination of the RH activities.
© 2012 ITER Organization.. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

1. ITER machine remote maintenance
The ITER operations programme is based on a 2 year cycle
of 16 months operation and 8 months shutdown. After 10 years
operation, an extended shutdown is scheduled for full blanket
replacement.
The basic approach to remote maintenance of the ITER machine
is to remove the machine components to the Hot Cell area, carry out
maintenance in the Hot Cell, and re-install the components back on
the machine. The NB Cell is an exception to this, where RH equip-
ment is installed in the NB Cell area and remote maintenance is
carried out in situ.
The ITER remote handling (RH) system has been divided into 7
major equipment system procurements that deliver complete sys-
tems (operator interfaces, equipment controllers, and equipment)
according to task oriented functional specifications (Fig. 1).
The RH equipment systems consist of [1]:

∗ Corresponding author. • Blanket RH system (PBS 23.01): system for in-vessel remote han-
E-mail address: david.hamilton@iter.org (D.T. Hamilton). dling of ITER Blanket system,

0920-3796/$ – see front matter © 2012 ITER Organization.. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.fusengdes.2012.05.012
1612 D.T. Hamilton, A. Tesini / Fusion Engineering and Design 87 (2012) 1611–1615

• RH plant system: the integration of the RH equipment systems

Operator Interfaces
that perform remote maintenance of the ITER machine when it is
in the long term maintenance (LTM) state.
Equipment Controllers • IVVS plant system: The in-vessel viewing system provides 3d
images of the in-vessel environment and it is normally operated
during the short term maintenance (STM) state.
Equipment Devices

Fig. 1. RH equipment system.

• Divertor RH system (PBS 23.02): system for in-vessel remote han-
dling of ITER Divertor system,
• Cask and Plug RH system (PBS 23.03): system for ITER Port Plug
remote handling and transfer of ITER components and RH equip-
ment between Tokamak building and Hot Cell building.
• In-vessel viewing system (PBS 23.04): system that is installed as
a port plug on the machine and is used during the short term
maintenance state to provide 3d inspection and metrology of the
in-vessel environment.
• Neutral Beam RH system (PBS 23.05): system for remote mainte-
nance of the ITER NB system.
• Hot Cell RH system (PBS 23.06): system for remote maintenance
of ITER machine components within the Hot Cell Facility.
• Multi-Purpose Deployer (PBS 23.10): system for providing gen-
eral in-vessel maintenance tasks (inspection, dust removal,
testing, rescue).
The RH plant system is distinguished from other ITER Plant sys-
tems by the man-in-the-loop nature of RH operations and the need
for dedicated RH control rooms, whereas the IVVS plant system
shall operate as an automated system from the ITER main control
room.
The RH plant system control architecture, therefore, has to sup-
port two operational viewpoints:
1. Central monitoring and coordination of ITER plant processes
from the main control room,
2. RH operators control of remote maintenance tasks from the RH
control rooms.
The RH system architectural structure (Fig. 2) shows that each
of the RH equipment systems control architecture conforms to a
two layer hierarchy:
• High-level control system: operator interfaces that are located in
the RH control room(s),
• Low-level control system: I&C cubicles that are located in the RH
cubicle rooms.

2. RH control system architecture
The RH system is one of the many ITER Plant systems that are
integrated and coordinated through the hierarchical structure of
the ITER CODAC system. The operation of the in-vessel viewing sys-
tem (IVVS) differs from the operation of the other RH systems and
so the RH system will be managed as two ITER plant I&C systems:
The RH supervisory control system (PBS 23.07) integrates the
RH maintenance equipment systems to create the RH plant system.
It shall implement the RH communication network infrastructure
that will provide a standard communication technology and pro-
tocols across the RH plant system:
• Control network: reserved for RH control communications,

CODAC CIS CSS

CIN CSN

CODAC Networks

RH Plant System
PBS 23.07 PON

RH Supervisor RH Plant IVVS Plant System

PSH PIS PSS
System Controller
PBS 23.04

File Network

RH Networks

PON
PBS 23.01 PBS 23.02 PBS 23.03 PBS 23.05 PBS 23.06 PBS 23.10
PSH PIS
High-Level High-Level High-Level High-Level High-Level High-Level
Control System Control System Control System Control System Control System Control System

Low-Level Low-Level Low-Level Low-Level Low-Level Low-Level IVVS Control

Control System Control System Control System Control System Control System Control System System

Equipment Equipment Equipment Equipment Equipment Equipment Equipment

Fig. 2. RH control system architectural structure.

 D.T. Hamilton, A. Tesini / Fusion Engineering and Design 87 (2012) 1611–1615
Task Supervisor
Operations Command and
Management
Control
System
File Network
RH Input Computer
Assisted
Devices
Teleoperation
Fig. 3. RH high-level control system.
• Audio/video network: dedicated high bandwidth network for
transmission of audio/video signals,
• Real-time network: network with deterministic timing for real-
time control communications,
• Diagnostic network: dedicated network for transmission of
equipment diagnostic data.
This architectural layout effectively combines both the CODAC
standard ITER Plant process control and the RH operation control
physical structures. The functional roles of the two control author-
ities over the RH operations are, on the other hand, quite distinct
and are defined as:
• Main control room role: to monitor the RH process and coordi-
nate centrally with other ITER activities by setting/clearing RH
controller permissions.
• RH control room role: to monitor and control the operation of the
RH equipment to accomplish remote maintenance tasks on the
ITER machine and machine components.
3. RH control system design handbook
3.1. Scope
The ITER RH control system (RHCS) will be a large and com-
plex system. It is estimated that it will contain in excess of 230 I&C
cubicles, with each cubicle having the complexity of a typical robot
controller. This ITER RH system needs to operate safely, effectively,
and with high availability over a minimum period of 25 years. These
requirements are global for the ITER project, and the CODAC sec-
tion have developed the Plant Control Design Handbook (PCDH)
[2] to address the operation and maintenance of I&C systems on
the project. However, the PCDH was developed with its main focus
on I&C for the ITER machine operations, and it does not completely
satisfy the requirements of the RH control system which engages in
ITER machine maintenance. A RH Control System Design Handbook
[3] has been developed to supplement the PCDH. The scope of the
RHCS Design Handbook is to perform two functions:
• Define the I&C standards and requirements that the RH plant sys-
tem shall apply as approved deviations from the Plant Control
Design Handbook,
• Define the extended I&C standards and requirements for the
equipment systems that are to be part of the RH plant system
and operated from the RH control rooms.
1613
High-Level Control System
Virtual Reality Viewing System
Viewing Viewing
Virtual Reality
Visualization Monitors HMI
Structural Viewing
Remote
Simulator Diagnostics System
3.2. High-level control system standards
The high-level control system is specified to have a modular
structure and shall include a standard set of modules with defined
functionalities (Fig. 3):
• Operations management system: to manage the task procedures
for the maintenance operations, and ensure that the man-in-loop
operations are carried out safely, efficiently, and with consistent
quality.
• Command and control system: to provide a graphic user interface
for operation of RH equipment and tools,
• Input devices: to allow operators to exercise direct control over
the motions/forces of RH equipment (includes joysticks, force-
feedback arms, and emergency stops),
• Virtual reality visualization: to provide live 3D visualization of
the remote operations,
• Structural simulator: to simulate load effects on the RH equip-
ment in order that VR visualization can provide an accurate
representation of the RH equipment positioning in the remote
environment,
• Computer assisted teleoperation: to provide collision avoidance
and virtual assistance to RH operations,
• Viewing system: to provide operation of camera controls, viewing
data optimization, and selection of operation viewing,
• Viewing Monitors: to provide operators with views of the remote
operations,
• Viewing HMI: to provide a graphic user interface to operate the
viewing system,
• Remote diagnostics: to provide RH engineers with equipment
diagnostic information and tools to assist fault detection and
investigation.
The ITER RH team is working with the ITER domestic agencies
(DA) and suppliers to achieve a uniform set of operator interface
applications in the RH control rooms.
3.3. Low-level control system standards
The low-level control system is a set of embedded controllers
that drive specialized RH equipment devices. The controllers must
be integrated into the ITER infrastructure and operated and main-
tained over the project lifetime. The standard controller model is a
vehicle for capturing the standards that the controllers must con-
form to in order to achieve these objectives (Fig. 4):
• Communication protocols,
• Standard modules,
• Standard operating states,
1614 D.T. Hamilton, A. Tesini / Fusion Engineering and Design 87 (2012) 1611–1615

High-Level Control Plant Supervisory • Viewing optimization: optimize the use of the viewing sensor
System Systems data, with a long term objective of operators viewing a computer
reconstruction of the remote environment driven by a fusion of
Communication
Networks live sensor data and a-prior model information,
• Standard control devices: demonstrate use of standard control
RH Controller
devices (joysticks, master arms) to control a range of RH equip-
Control Unit ment,
P • Unified Command & Control: demonstrate the concept of using
o a standard Command & Control application to operate all the RH
w equipment,
Input/Output
e • Integrated operator interfaces: develop a process for tracking
r non-instrumented operations and improving procedure valida-
tion through better integration of the operator interfaces,
Protection System • Standard controller demonstration: demonstrate, through simu-
lation, the configuration of the RH standard controller model for
a representative range of RH equipment controllers.
Sensor Actuator
Drivers Drivers
ITER is sponsoring R&D activities against these topics either
Power
directly (CEA List) or indirectly through the European DA (F4E grant
with VTT/Tampere University) and Japanese DA (under definition).
Power Control
Mains Power Cabling Signal Cabling
Device 5. Standardization activities
Distribution Cabling

5.1. Standard parts

Fig. 4. Schematic of RH controller hardware.

The project wishes to control the complexity of the I&C by

• Standard functionalities,
• Automatic sequence language,
• Emergency stop circuit.
A modular approach is promoted throughout the controller and,
to this end, component oriented software engineering shall be
employed for the software design (Fig. 5).
4. R&D activities
The ITER RH control system is leveraged on the know-how
developed from existing RH systems, notably the JET RH system
[4,5]. Of course, the ITER project introduces new challenges, and
a number of control system topics are being pursued through a
research and development programme:
encouraging the use of standard COTS parts. CODAC has defined a
number of standard parts for ITER I&C (notable the EPICS operating
framework, and the Siemens S7 PLC). The RH section has instigated
a programme of evaluation studies to identify suitable standard
parts for the functional roles defined in the RH specifications. As has
already been described, in some cases it is believed that the CODAC
standard is not best suited for the man-in-the-loop RH system. The
size of the RH system can warrant the selection of an alternative,
more optimized, standard if this is demonstrated to be the case. The
RH studies also investigate RH specific COTS standards. A summary
list of the items to be investigated covers:
5.1.1. Supervisory control system
Communication middleware, communication protocols, real-
time network.

• Accurate VR modelling: research methods to achieve accurate 5.1.2. High-level control system
registration between virtual models and real objects, and real- VR visualization application, command & control applica-
time modelling of the RH structures under actual load conditions, tion, remote diagnostics platform, structural simulator platform,

Controller Architecture

Control System Methods Methods Condition

(non-RT) RH Library
Monitoring
(non-RT)
Methods
Events
Events

Methods
Events
Periodic
Activity
Control Loop Events Device System
(RT) (RT)
Methods
Parameters Methods
Methods
Events Periodic Periodic Periodic
Activity Activity Activity

Operating Framework

Fig. 5. Component oriented controller software.

 D.T. Hamilton, A. Tesini / Fusion Engineering and Design 87 (2012) 1611–1615 1615

5.2. Standard work-cell

Operations Monitoring (Viewing, VR, Task Status)
Operator Interface Applications
4 Person Team
The ITER remote maintenance is expected to be carried out as
a programme of maintenance tasks during the scheduled 8 month
shutdowns. The RH equipment systems required during a particular
shutdown will vary, and some systems will only be used rarely. The
concept for the RH control room is to have a set of flexible work-
cells (Fig. 6) that can be configured for the tasks required during a
shutdown.
An R&D activity has been launched to validate this concept and
Force- to provide a specification for the RH standard work-cell, taking into
FeedbackControl
Device account current best practices and human factors engineering.

Fig. 6. RH standard work-cell concept. References

viewing monitors, emergency stop buttons, joysticks, force-
feedback master arms.
5.1.3. Low-level control system
Communication bus, operating framework, real-time operating
system, RH libraries, motion controller, sensor drivers, condition
monitoring tool.
[1] A. Tesini, The ITER Remote Maintenance System, ISFNT-8 #376, 2007.
[2] J.Y. Journeaux, Instrumentation and Control Standardization in the ITER Project,
SOFT, 2010.
[3] D. Hamilton, Remote Handling Control System Design Handbook,
ITER D 2EGPEC v2, private communication.
[4] A. Rolfe, A perspective on fusion relevant remote handling techniques, Fusion
Engineering and Design 82 (2007).
[5] B. Haist, A rational approach to remote handling equipment control design, in:
9th ANS Topical Meeting on Robotics and Remote Systems, 2001.