Nuclear power plant Sellafield just announced the start of an innovative trial. In one current project, they’re training a four-legged robot to patrol radiation levels in areas too dangerous for human workers. This artist’s rendering provided by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority shows cooperatively owned and operated solar facilities.
The trial includes a tele-operated underwater vehicle. It features a big, green arm on the front that carries a long yellow swabbing tool. This groundbreaking robot dynamically imitates the swabbing motion that human workers typically make. As a consequence, it does a great job in capturing data on radiation levels. That it can do so in hazardous environments that humans are too afraid to enter makes this technology particularly important.
Sellafield’s health physics team performs hundreds of swab tests each day. They accomplish this by overseeing adherence to safety regulations as well as by informing successful decommissioning plans. The information derived from these swabs informs safety measures in the facility and helps ensure all staff and participants are protected. The robot’s speed and accuracy enable extensive data collection while eliminating risk of injury from dangerous manual sampling.
This trial follows a successful test at the Joint European Torus facility in Culham, Oxfordshire. The positive results from that trial opened the door to the adoption of this technology at Sellafield.
“We’re excited about what this robot can do,” said Deon Bulman, the company’s remotely operated vehicle equipment lead. He stated,
“Together, these capabilities support faster, safer, and more cost-effective decommissioning operations while pushing forward the adoption of advanced robotics in the nuclear sector.”
Dr. Kirsty Hewitson is keen for people to understand the bigger picture around this technology. She noted that it “could have an impact on both nuclear decommissioning and fusion engineering sites,” highlighting its potential application across various sectors.
The first trial of this innovative robot at Sellafield marks a significant step forward in integrating advanced robotics within the nuclear industry. After all, technology is moving quickly now. This advancement has the potential to revolutionize the practice for safety and greatly enhance operational efficiencies in settings typically inhospitable to human labor forces.