What exactly is teleoperated welding?

Integrating innovation starts with testing! 

Innovative technologies cannot always be deployed immediately on our industrial sites. They must first be tested to ensure they can be applied in the defence shipbuilding industry, comply with our manufacturing processes and meet our quality requirements. In some cases, these tests require our machine and tool design partners to further develop their technologies before they can be effectively deployed in our industrial operations. It is through these successive phases that Naval Group draws on its expertise to integrate new technologies safely and with confidence. 
This is where Technocampus Ocean, Naval Group’s research and development (R&D) centre, comes in. With nearly 200 experts, it develops the technologies today that will improve tomorrow’s production and design activities, while ensuring the superiority of our naval products and equipment. 
 

Why develop teleoperated welding at Naval Group? 

Welders at Naval Group weld over dozens of kilometres per vessel, and the preheating temperature of parts can reach several hundred degrees. By reducing welders’ exposure to heat by up to 70%, the Telewelder robotic arm combines improved occupational health and safety with time-savings and high-quality welding.

As with all our R&D projects, we tested the robot on parts of various sizes and materials, and assessed the welding process against our industrial requirements. We shared the results with the European Jarvis team and our industrial partner LS Group, which developed and tested the application in the robotics laboratory. This collaborative approach helps accelerate the development of technologies for industrial sites while contributing to the vitality of Europe’s defence industrial and technological base.