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.

Some Key Issues in Remote Handling; M. Becquet. Teleman: A European Communities Robotics Programme for the Nuclear Industry; B. Tolley. Practical Experience Using Teleoperated Technology: Teleoperated Devices Used in an Accelerator Complex; R. Horne. Artificial Realities Techniques for teleoperation of Robotic Systems; D. Marini. Robot Motion Planning: A Survey; C. Torras. Autonomous Mobile Robots and Teleoperation; J. del R. Millan, C. Torras, M. Becquet. Kinematic Calibration in Remote Handling and Teleoperation Environments; J.-M. Renders. Transporters for teleoperation in Jet; T. Raimondi. Nuclear Teleoperation. Particular Challenges in Decommissioning Applications; M. Decréton. Manipulators Mascot IV Used in Jet and Prospects of Enhancement; T. Raimondi, L. Galbiati. Position Sensing for Advanced Teleoperation in Nuclear Environment; M. Decréton. Advanced Telerobotic Systems. Single-Master Multi-Slave Manipulator Systems and Cellular Robotic System; T. Fukuda, K. Kosuge. Introduction to Robotics and Computer Vision; J.E. Besancon. The NET Remote Maintenance Programme; D. Maisonnier, T. Reeve.