ROBOTICS AND AUTOMATION | SITE SECURITY
Robotics, security and maintenance
The growing use of robotics and automation in site security and maintenance within nuclear facilities shows what is possible but learning exactly how they fit into existing nuclear industry workflows is key to maximising their potential benefits.
By Charlie Burgess, Avigilon
The introduction of Internet of Things (IoT) sensors in manufacturing facilities and power plants has fundamentally changed how maintenance is scheduled and performed. Source: EDF Energy
THROUGHOUT THE YEARS, security has acted as a proving ground for new technologies. Hardware and software have taken the worlds of manufacturing, mining and refining by storm, streamlining workflows and handling the mundane tasks that drive workers insane. But for the nuclear industry there exists an extra layer of scrutiny when it comes to adopting these innovations in a capacity that could potentially negatively impact human lives in this highly safety conscious sector. Considering the many responsibilities security teams
face the onus falls rightly on the technology to prove it can operate with the consistency and transparency required. Robotics and automation are among the most impactful advancements of modern times and have played a pivotal role in industry since the 19th century. Both, at their inception, were designed for routine, though they now sit at the forefront of AI applications and adaptive learning. It is this evolution that has led to their growing adoption by the largely unpredictable sectors of security and maintenance, where tasks can be handled with greater specificity and unexpected developments can be anticipated with data.
22 | March 2026 |
www.neimagazine.com
The current state of robotics and automation Though related in many ways, it’s worth outlining exactly what separates automation and robotics as concepts. Robots are the product of multiple disciplines, such as engineering and computer science. They are physical, programmable machines that work alongside humans and, in the context of maintenance and security, can perform both repairs and patrols. Their presence in factories and industrial settings has more than doubled in the past decade, growing 10% year-on-year since 2021. Automation is the process of carrying out assigned
tasks without human intervention. This is a broad concept that can include robotics but also applies to software and broader machines that churn away without the need for direct oversight. In industrial environments, two types of automation reign supreme: Fixed automation: A single machine or a set of machines that perform a specific set of operations. Assembly lines in automotive factories are good examples of this so-called hard automation. They’re built for speed and efficiency, not versatility. Intelligent automation: Machines and software
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