On Wednesday, July 23, WEST hosted a unique experiment: for the first time ever, a drone successfully flew inside the vacuum vessel of a Tokamak.
This test campaign, conducted by colleagues from the DES/ISEC* department at the CEA in Marcoule, in collaboration with Flyability (the drone supplier), validated several key points: • Precise access to areas of interest in the vacuum vessel
- Flight stability and controlled trajectories
- Reliable data transmission within the WEST facility
- Impressive image quality
A live broadcast in the control room allowed this technological feat to be followed in real time.
Although the conditions for in-service intervention are more complex, WEST is paving the way for a new era of robotic inspections inside fusion machines.
Initial feedback will be gathered and the data collected will be analyzed to determine the next steps, such as testing flight performance in a nitrogen atmosphere.
You will soon be able to view the films shot by the drone: get ready to discover WEST as you’ve never seen it before… or almost!
The Institute of Science and Technology for a Circular Economy of Low-Carbon Energy
From left to right: Mickaël Houry – IRFM, Thibaud Durand and Jeremy Seyssaud – ISEC, Cédric Chatain – Flyability, Cyril Brun, Laurent Letellier, Jean-Pierre Friconneau, Jérôme Bucalossi and Phillipe Magaud – IRFM