Robot completes radioactivity detection tests at UK's Sellafield

An autonomous robot that can detect radioactive contamination on the floors of decommissioned nuclear facilities has completed multiple deployments on the UK's Sellafield site.

The robot, named CARMA II, contains an on-board laser scanner, two 3D depth cameras and uses sensors to create heat maps of radiation levels.

Data collected from CARMA II is then shared with and interpreted by the health physics professionals.

The platform was developed by the University of Manchester in partnership with the Robotics and AI Collaboration (RAICo) and Ice Nine Robotics to promote safer and less time consuming radiation monitoring.

According to RAICo, routine monitoring and surveying is necessary for decommissioned plants to ensure regulatory requirements are met.

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And rather than accomplishing this with humans and handheld scanners, using CARMA II provides a safer and faster alternative.

Keir Groves, research fellow from the University of Manchester and CARMA II development lead, said: “In all our work with the nuclear industry, our ultimate aims are to remove people from harm and reduce the cost of government-funded nuclear decommissioning in the UK.

“Following several years of close collaboration with Sellafield Ltd and Ice Nine and with latter stage on-the-ground support in preparations for deployment from the RAICo team at their main facility in Whitehaven, CARMA II is now ready to be adopted by the industry and fulfil these aims.”

Nicholas Clarke, Remediation, Technology and Innovation lead at Sellafield, added: “Technologies such as CARMA II, which can free up our health physics monitors to focus on high-hazard risk reduction work, are key to enabling our mission of hazard and risk reduction and lifecycle value through safe, secure delivery at pace.”

The team is in the process of making minor tweaks to CARMA II to prepare the platform for commercialisation and wider rollouts.

RAICo is a partnership between the UK Atomic Energy Authority, the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, Sellafield and the University of Manchester. It aims to accelerate the deployment of robotics and AI in nuclear decommissioning and fusion engineering.