RAICo supports quadruped deployment in reactor bioshield as part of dismantling project

A significant milestone in the UK nuclear decommissioning industry was recently achieved with the deployment of a cutting-edge autonomous quadrupedal robot within the Trawsfynydd reactor bioshield as part of a reactor dismantling project.

In this project time is of the essence. Once the next phase of decommissioning commences, access to the bioshield will be restricted for several years. To seize this opportunity, the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) supported the deployment of advanced robotic technology enabling inter-departmental collaborations between Sellafield Ltd and Nuclear Restoration Services (NRS).

Led by Reactor Dismantling Project Manager Joel Edwards, and executed by Sellafield’s Engineering and Maintenance Remote Technologies Group RTG) and the Oxford Robotics Institute (ORI) from the University of Oxford, this groundbreaking initiative used a quadruped robot to autonomously gather critical visual and lidar data essential to the reactor’s dismantling project.

Using a remote-controlled robot, a mesh network was set up within the inspection area, enabling the quadruped to explore its environment semi-autonomously with the operator selecting its destination from proposed targets, rather than requiring full teleoperation.

This work was supported by RAICo’s academic theme through the The University of Manchester. The trial was delivered by Sellafield’s robotics deployment team in RTG, utilising ORI’s innovative AutoInspect autonomy payload. This deployment marks the first use of AutoInspect’s autonomous exploration mode in a real-world setting, showcasing the potential of autonomous quadrupedal robotics to revolutionise nuclear decommissioning in hazardous environments.

This achievement is the result of extensive collaboration and dedication from all parties involved. By continuing to accelerate the development and adoption of robotics across the NDA, the nuclear industry takes a significant step towards safer, more efficient, and timely decommissioning processes.