A remote-controlled mobile robot for nuclear intervention has been developed. The concept of this tracked vehicle relies on variable geometry and active stability principles. To allow the human operator to make full sue of CENTAURE original features, a control strategy is being studied, based on a bilateral master-slave approach which has provided outstanding achievements for manipulator control. An experimental test bed has been built which includes a force reflecting six-degree-of-freedom master arm, and preliminary results are promising for vehicle CAT (computer-aided teleoperation) control.>

The paper gives an overview of the different aspects of Nuclear services (Intervention, Decomissioning, Maintenance). A presentation of today and future needs in these fields for Teleoperation with sensor based controls is reviewed. The present achievements of French efforts in CAT (computer assisted Teleoperation) applied to bilateral force feedback Telemanipulators is derived.