Remote inspection, measurement and handling for LHC

Personnel access to the LHC tunnel will be restricted to varying extents during the life of the machine due to radiation, cryogenic and pressure hazards. The ability to carry out visual inspection, measurement and handling activities remotely during periods when the LHC tunnel is potentially hazardous offers advantages in terms of safety, accelerator down time, and costs. The first applications identified were remote measurement of radiation levels at the start of shut-down, remote geometrical survey measurements in the collimation regions, and remote visual inspection during pressure testing and initial machine cool-down. In addition, for remote handling operations, it will be necessary to be able to transmit several real-time video images from the tunnel to the control room. The paper describes the design, development and use of a remotely controlled vehicle to demonstrate the feasibility of meeting the above requirements in the LHC tunnel. Design choices are explained along with operating experience to-date and future development plans.