The installation of the segments (arched concrete segments that make up the lining of a tunnel) is a delicate operation that can take from 30 minutes to an hour, depending on the operators. Atlas aims to reduce the drudgery and improve the productivity of this operation. Created by Bouygues Travaux Publics teams in collaboration with a subsidiary of the University of Nantes specialising in innovative project engineering, this system makes it possible to install a ring in 30 minutes and to repeat this cycle automatically.

Implemented on the high-speed rail line HS2, Atlas built its first ring in November. This is the first time this technology has been used successfully in the UK. 

Congratulations to the teams that were fully involved and supportive during last few months of testing and commissioning.

Did you know? ATLAS isn’t the only innovative technology being used on the Align TBMs that has been developed by teams from Bouygues Travaux Publics:

• Krokodyl: a robot that removes the wooden spacers between each tunnel segment when they are delivered onto the TBM, which reduces the need for an operative in a high-risk area.
• Dobydoo: a second feature of the Krokodyl robot, that screws the dowels into the segments, so they are ready to be slotted into place. 
• Mobydic: a decision-making tool to improve the operation of the TBM and its maintenance. Thanks to the installation of sensors on the cutting head wheels, it can check the state of wear of the latter and monitor in real time the geology on the excavation face (detection of caverns, buildings, concrete piles). The operator can then optimise the excavation process as well as the maintenance of the tools.