COVER STORY | REMOTE DECOMMISSIONING Right:
The OC Robotics LaserSnake system has been working on the highly radioactive core of the redundant DRAGON reactor at Winfrith in the UK Photo credit: OC Robotics
Another proposal featuring robots came from the USA. “With the nuclear industry growing, the need for new subject matter experts is in high demand. As technology increases throughout our lifetime so does the need for experts in these fields, for example robotics,” said Daniel Martin, a research assistant at the Florida International University in the USA, whose team’s proposal envisaged use of a robotic platform and artificial intelligence to aid in preventing defects before they occur in facilities to be dismantled. Meanwhile, Erin Holland, a PhD student from the
University of Bristol in the UK, led a team that submitted a characterisation toolkit for accelerated decommissioning activities. “Nuclear robotics is a fast-growing discipline and physical demonstrations of advanced robotic systems help make nuclear decommissioning quicker and safer for human operators,” said Holland. He added: “The overall aim of this project is to make a legacy site, formerly used for uranium and thorium ore processing, safer for the civilians working there.”
Right: A robotic tool will be used to gather samples at Fukushima to help characterise material for decommissioning Photo credit: Jacobs
Robot use in the field Sellafield, the UK’s largest nuclear site and the focus of its nuclear decommissioning efforts, is making increasing use of robots. Spot the robot dog made its debut on the Sellafield site in October 2021 with three days of successful trials and a shift within an active area. Sellafield’s remediation teams are leading Spot’s deployment for Sellafield Ltd, working with Cumbria-based engineering consultant Createc, the UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) and its US manufacturers Boston Dynamics. Valuable information was collected through laser
scanning and gamma radiation imaging using a system provided by Createc. The robot completed its work wearing a suit specially designed and manufactured at the UKAEA which protected it from any radioactive contamination. Chris Hope, remediation capability development
V professionals working in decommissioning. To attract new talent to the field, in 2020 the IAEA held a global crowdsourcing challenge that sought original concepts or project outlines from young people for advancing the decommissioning of nuclear facilities or environmental remediation of radiologically contaminated sites. Entries included characterisation toolkits, instruments for field measurements and collecting 3D radiation data, as well as robots and artificial intelligence. A total of 26 submissions from 12 countries were
received and evaluated against criteria such as the level of innovation and creativity. Of the five best entries selected by the IAEA, several relied on robotics. For example, Zeni Anggraini from the National Nuclear Energy Agency of Indonesia (BATAN) led a team that came up with a concept of a robot for mapping and monitoring of contaminated areas. “So far, measuring of contamination has been limited to a small area and was done manually,” he said. “We want to make a robot that can be used to avoid potential radiation risks to staff. There needs to be a breakthrough in the method of radiation monitoring using robots to measure and visualise contamination in affected areas.”
18 | August 2022 |
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manager, Sellafield Ltd said: “This was a really challenging task – we deployed Spot into a complex, cluttered, highly contaminated area with a mission to capture information. The quality of the data we captured is fantastic and will help us with our decommissioning and waste planning.” He added: “Until now, this type of survey has relied on our operators manually deploying equipment in hazardous environments wearing full protective equipment. This proves that Spot can help us take humans away from harm. This allows us to free up our workers to deliver other value adding work. The protective suit did its job too – the robot was monitored and cleared by our health physics team, and was able to leave the Sellafield site.” Elsewhere in the UK, this year saw Dounreay Site
Restoration Ltd (DSRL) begin working with the Robotics and Artificial Intelligence in Nuclear (RAIN) Hub to develop a second-generation robot called Lyra. It includes a package of surveying measures including LIDAR, multiple angle cameras, radiation probes and the ability to take swabs using the manipulator arm. In February, the robot completed a survey of a 140-metre- long underfloor duct which runs under the central corridor between laboratories, providing useful information that will help decommissioning. “Now the characterisation survey is complete we have built up a very comprehensive picture of the duct, which will help us make informed decisions on how the duct
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