Webuild tests robot designed to improve excavation safety
11 April 2022Webuild and its Swiss subsidiary CSC Costruzioni have completed a test run of the world’s first robot designed to improve the safety of tunnel excavation.
The autonomous exploration electrified vehicle (AXEL), a prototype remote-controlled robot, was tested at Nicchie La Maddalena, the main construction site on the Italian side of the Turin-Lyon base tunnel.
Designed to inspect the atmospheric conditions of a tunnel where potential risks are unknown, AXEL is the result of collaboration between Webuild and the Competence Industry Manufacturing 4.0 (CIM) research centre. It was developed to conduct a preliminary inspection of 3km of an exploratory tunnel at Nicchie La Maddalena to ensure the conditions were safe for workers.
It is the first time in Italy that robotics have been used to explore a tunnel for a planned railway. AXEL allowed data on the atmosphere to be gathered and analysed. It can be controlled remotely for up to 2km. Equipped with telecameras, sensors, and communication antennae, the robot guarantees a high level of reliability as it operates under harsh environmental conditions. It is powered by a battery so produces no emissions.
Work at the Nicchie La Maddalena site is part of the preparations for the excavation of the 65km base tunnel, undertaken for TELT, a binational public entity. The tunnel will be part of the high-speed/high-capacity railway connecting Paris and Milan, which is also part of the Mediterranean Corridor of the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T), the ambitious EU initiative to connect Europe’s railways.
Webuild is working on other TELT lots. In July 2021, the group and its joint venture party Vinci won a €1.43bn contract for the excavation of a section of the base tunnel. Lot 2 involves the construction sites of La Praz and Saint-Martin-de-la-Porte and a total of 46km of tunnels that will include two parallel tunnels forming the railway line, as well as a system of auxiliary tunnels. In 2020, Webuild and its consortium partners were awarded a €450m contract for Lot 5A. This involves the preparatory works for the construction of a safety site in Modane and for four ventilation shafts.
