Wind River announced that VxWorks is the choice of the France-based Group of Robotic Intervention on Accidents (INTRA) for its new family of radioactive cleanup robots.
The robots are equipped with cameras and radioactivity sensors, and are designed to assess and clear radioactive accidents.
The control units in the robots and in the control center run VxWorks on an Intel Pentium 4 processor. According to a Wind River press release, the system needs a response time of less than 100 milliseconds for all the data and three channels of high-resolution video from the robot, including startup time, and the software must be highly deterministic to reliably handle all operations and give the operator real-time control.
The INTRA vehicles that are the first in line for VxWorks are the ERASE, EBENNE, and ERELT robotic vehicles.
· The External Reconnaissance, Assistance and Surveillance Robot (ERASE) is designed to inspect accident sites remotely. It can navigate rough terrain and be controlled from up to 10 kilometers away for up to ten hours.
· The Engin Benne, or EBENNE, is a dump truck equipped with cameras, lighting and a gamma detector to enable precise remote operation around the clock.
· The Teleoperated Relay Robot (ERELT) is fitted with a telescoping antenna and relays radio transmissions from the ERASE and EBENNE to a control desk, located a safe distance away.
Describing the choice of Wind River, Pascal Izydorczyk, Technical Operations Attache at INTRA Groupe said, "The INTRA Groupe robots are designed to operate under the most hostile conditions possible. A real-time response is necessary from the equipment when lives may be in danger and every second counts. We selected VxWorks because of its rugged credentials in unmanned vehicles, under water and on Mars."
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