T/MJB123/23 RACE IVD Camera

Over the next 10 years UKAEA will be running a programme of work to decommission the Joint European Torus(JET) fusion reactor based at Culham. This decommissioning campaign will provide a large-scale demonstration of the deployment of remote decommissioning technologies, systems, and operations expertise to remove a diverse range of activated and tritiated materials from the JET vessel. This campaign is a one-off opportunity to demonstrate safe decommissioning of a fusion power plant using remote operating systems and maximise the scientific benefit of the JET fusion reactor in the last phases of its life. There will be an initial preparation phase that is expected to take ~3 years. During this initial phase the Remote Handling Group would like to take advantage of advances in miniaturised camera technology to conduct surveys of the confined spaces around the JET vessel. The data from which can be used to inform the decommissioning campaign.

The current camera system does not provide the access, image quality or zoom capability required to conduct the required surveys. Consequently, UKAEA would like to procure a robust and reliable COTS camera that can be deployed by the MASCOT remote handling system in order to access these areas. The mount to interface between the camera and MASCOT being designed by UKAEA.

It is envisaged that the COTS camera will be connected to the MASCOT chest connector with video running over coax and control signals over RS232 or RS485 cables. After conversion the signals will pass over a fibre optic network to the control room where video output will be observed and recorded and the camera controlled. Alternatively, the COTS camera can be placed directly into the JET reactor through the flight tube. A minimum of 20m of cable is needed to access all areas of the JET Vessel. If deployed in this manner the camera would need a stand-alone control system with a SDI or a HDMI, that would be converted to SDI, for the video feeds.