ROBOTICS & REMOTE TECHNOLOGY | AUTONOMOUS TRANSPORT
Above: Sellafield is exploring autonomous vehicle technology to support its waste management programme
coming years. It suggests that reducing the potential risks
associated with delivery could improve the efficiency of operations on site. It further believes there is a potential cost benefit of £1 million to £5 million (US$1.3-$6.6m) per year from simplifying operations, maintaining throughput of transfer activities and reducing risk of downtime on downstream plant. The new storage facility is due to enter service within five
years and Sellafield Ltd wants to fully automate package transfers within this timeframe, allowing it to dispense with manual methods.
Sellafield used the Game Changers programme to
search for a prototype or high-level concept to take forward. In October 2023 Sellafield Ltd pre-tendered for a n autonomous transportation system to automate the waste package transportation. This year it began further development to proof of concept (PoC). The requirements for the new system say it must be:
● Able to cope with daily journeys. ● Self-powered. ● In constant and secure communication with a base and with CNC, which provides security within the site.
● Able to flag a change in its status to base in the event of breakdown.
● Fully autonomous, from point A to point B, stopping when arriving at the destination and not involving operators.
● Able to transport packages of variable size and shape. ● One single unit – not using a trailer, for example. ● Able to provide a status check ‘heartbeat’. ● Able to flag when something is not working properly. ● Operable in all weathers. ● Fail-safe. ● Triggered at the start by a manual ‘go’ button or similar.
Other considerations may include: ● Building in redundancy to avoid system failure of any critical part of the system or the system as a whole.
● Providing additional containment and shielding of the cargo during transit
In addition, the transfers must comply with safeguards, so they must have an ‘eye on’ approach using technology such as cameras, which must be available continuously to ensure compliance with regulatory requirements. Sellafield Ltd’s aspiration is that the transport system will
be ‘intelligent’. That would mean the system understands the overall layout of the Sellafield site and would be able to service various plants and stores. It would also have the capability to understand obstacles and road closures, as well as being able to navigate unmarked crossroads and pedestrian crossings and abide with regulations. This requirement is made even more complex because the Sellafield site is unique in its layout and the typical road signage commonly seen on UK highways is not always present in some of the less populated areas of the sprawling site. Sellafield Ltd sought applications both from
Above: Operations on the Sellafield site are complex and so are the logistics and work management planning requirements Photo credit: Nuclear Transport Solutions
24 | October 2024 |
www.neimagazine.com
organisations that could deliver a full system and from those that had sub-systems such as video analytics that could help to identify pedestrians. Digital Concepts Engineering Ltd was selected via the Gamechangers Challenge Statement and in January this year Sellafield Ltd provided it with an initial £10,000 (US$13,000) of feasibility funding to support the creation of a business case and a project plan with milestones and funding requirements. The output of this feasibility study was evaluated by Sellafield Ltd and Digital Concept Engineering Ltd has now been awarded £207,000 (US$271,000) in additional funding to take the project to a ‘proof-of- concept’ phase. The aim is to complete that programme before April 2025. ■
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