As part of Britain’s efforts to decommission Dounreay nuclear power station in Scotland, a dog-like robot has mapped a radioactive section that has been sealed off for 25 years.
The quadruple robotic device developed by Boston Dynamics called “Spot” is described as a “mobile, agile robot”. Thanks to its ability to move over rough terrain, avoid obstacles and climb stairs, it can monitor danger areas and collect data.
At Dounreay, two spots were used on an evaporator cell in the Fuel Cycle Area, which houses the facilities that used to house spent fuel separation and uranium and plutonium recovery.
The test was conducted by staff from Dounreay and staff from Createc, the systems integrator for Spot.
“The environment we studied was complex, having not been accessed in over 20 years, so the team didn’t know what to expect: that made the deployment so challenging.” said Createc Energy Managing Director: Will Newsom.
Both Spot and its operators were first trained on a wooden model of the evaporator cell.
In the next phase, the robot, wrapped in a protective suit, climbed several flights of stairs and entered the actual cell. Once inside, Spot managed to complete his assigned mission.
First, a full 3D map of the four-story cell was created. Second, radiological data was collected to create a dosimetry map showing the areas of higher radioactivity.
“Through the initial preliminary work, Spot has shown us the dangers that the workers involved in the decommissioning could face. We will use the data to ensure we mitigate these threats and keep our employees safe,” said Bernie Jones, project manager at Dounreay.
“This work also has the potential to save money on our decommissioning investigation,” Jones added.
Over the next few months, the team will explore a series of seven additional use cases for the canine-like robot.