Sellafield, a prominent nuclear site in the UK, has begun testing an innovative tool designed to enhance radiation monitoring capabilities. The trial includes a four-legged robot called Spot. What Spot does, powered by RAICo, Spot uses swabs to test surfaces for radiation contamination. This innovation will help protect worker safety and improve efficiency by reducing risk during decommissioning operations through hazardous environments.
RAICo, which has a large, extendable arm at the front, carries a yellow swabbing tool. This overall design configuration provides the robot with the ability to replicate human swabbing actions with greater precision through ‘haptic feedback’. This feedback allows the operator to have more control on the force applied while swabbing, which is essential for collecting valid data.
Deon Bulman, senior manager for the plant’s remotely operated vehicle equipment, said developing such technology has clear benefits. He stated that “those capabilities support faster, safer, and more cost-effective decommissioning operations.” Spot’s impressive agility and responsiveness allow it to quickly traverse hazardous environments that would otherwise be unsafe for human workers to enter. Doing so dramatically lessens the risks tied to radiation exposure.
At Sellafield, the health physics technical team performs hundreds of surface contamination surveys every day. The chemical data generated from these swabs are vital to informing decommissioning plans and ensuring the public continues to deserve the highest safety standards. By using RAICo in their operations, Sellafield is leading the charge in using more modern and efficient concepts to deal with radiation monitoring.
This trial follows the success of RAICo’s proof of concept at the Joint European Torus facility in Culham, Oxfordshire. In fact, there, we demonstrated many of these same robotic capabilities. According to Dr. Kirsty Hewitson, the director of RAICo, these innovations are crucial for the nuclear industry. Bulman echoed this sentiment, highlighting the potential for “pushing forward the adoption of advanced robotics in the nuclear sector.”
Through this trial, Sellafield hopes to set a benchmark for the use of robotics in dangerous environments. Technology is advancing at a breakneck pace. Thanks to the success seen with RAICo and Spot, radiation monitoring is ready to experience groundbreaking changes on the horizon.