Genenta-backed Sòphia High Tech Brings Aerospace Precision Inside a Nuclear Fusion Reactor with ROMAN, a Robotic Arm

Sòphia High Tech unveils ROMAN, a robotic arm engineered to perform inspection and maintenance operations inside a nuclear fusion machine. Sòphia HT and its partners Department of Industrial Engineering (DII) and Herobots designed, developed, produced, assembled, tested and integrated the manipulator ROMAN units for two facilities: the DII of the University Federico II and to Consorzio RFX2.
ROMAN demonstrates Sòphia HT’s ability to engineer systems for environments where humans cannot operate and failure is not an option. Designed for RFX-mod2, a nuclear fusion research machine in which plasma can reach approximately 20 million °C, ROMAN remotely inspects and maintains the machine’s innermost wall. Its custom-built tool can identify, remove and reinstall individual graphite tiles, as well as perform visual inspection and cleaning operations.

ROMAN is the result of a close collaboration between Sòphia HT, Herobots – a technology partner specialized in robotics and automation for safety-critical applications – the DII and Consorzio RFX. Within the project, Sòphia HT led the development, manufacturing, assembly, testing, and integration of the ROMAN manipulators, working closely with all partners throughout the definition, validation, and refinement of the solution. The partners worked closely throughout the definition, validation, and refinement of the solution.

The project extends Sòphia HT’s proven precision-engineering capabilities—from critical components for rockets, satellites and defense systems—into nuclear technology and energy infrastructure, while leveraging the robotics expertise for hazardous and challenging environments of the DII and Herobots team. This provides Sòphia HT with a new strong reference capability for future applications in another highly regulated, mission-critical market and supports Genenta’s strategy of building an industrial platform across sectors central to national technological sovereignty.

READ the Il Sole 24 article here