Robotics milestone reached at Sellafield
Sellafield Ltd. and AtkinsRéalis have successfully operated a robotic dog from a remote location in what might be the first time such an operation has happened at a nuclear licensed site, according to the companies in a March 18 press release.
The testing took place at the Sellafield site, formerly known as Windscale, in England. As of August 2022, the site has been in the process of decommissioning, nuclear waste processing, and waste storage.
Initially, Sellafield was used to produce plutonium for the U.K.'s nuclear deterrent. It later became involved in reprocessing spent nuclear fuel. The site covers an area of two square miles and comprises over 200 nuclear facilities and more than 1,000 buildings.
Sellafield Ltd. is a British nuclear decommissioning company under the authority of the U.K. Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA), a government body set up to deal with the nation’s civil nuclear legacy sites. AtkinsRéalis is an international engineering firm and a nuclear organization.
The control room in the town of Whitehaven, from where Spot was remotely during testing. (Photo: AtkinsRéalis)
Testing: AtkinsRéalis has been working at Sellafield for the past two years to deploy on-site a customized quadrupedal robotic “dog”—built by Boston Dynamics and known as Spot—that one day would be able to operate alongside human workers to inspect areas, capture data, and carry out tasks in hazardous locations.
According to AtkinsRéalis, the trial program tested the ability to operate Spot on-site but remotely, from a location outside the site’s boundary. During the trial, control room operations were set up in the town of Whitehaven, about 11 miles away from Sellafield, so that Spot could later livestream footage from a noncritical area at the site.
AtkinsRéalis worked with Sellafield’s remote technology group in the months building up to the trial to put in place the necessary digital and cyber protocols to enable a safe and secure operation.
“Sellafield Ltd. has pioneered the adoption of technology across its operations, and this latest milestone is another step forward for the role of robotics in decommissioning,” said Richard Brook, technology solutions lead for decommissioning at AtkinsRéalis. “Virtual site access is already being used in the delivery of major infrastructure programs; this trial is a big step toward unlocking its benefits for nuclear-licensed sites without compromising safety or security.”
Future use: The NDA group is using technology and innovation to transform how nuclear decommissioning is performed, an approach that could be applied across other NDA nuclear sites. "This successful trial marks a significant milestone in our journey toward integrating advanced robotics into our operations at Sellafield,” said Deon Bulman, ROV equipment program lead at Sellafield Ltd. “The ability to remotely operate robotic systems like Spot demonstrates how digital innovation can enhance safety, efficiency, and decision-making on nuclear-licensed sites.”
Bulman added that robot testing should pave the way for future advancements in remote operations.
