UKAEA calls on global robotics community to advance fusion energy

The United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) is calling upon the international robotics community to collaborate on solving challenges hindering the progress of fusion energy.

Leading technologists from UKAEA’s fusion robotics division RACE (Remote Applications in Challenging Environments) are inviting academics, researchers and industry to discuss fusion energy’s challenges in mechanical engineering, electronics and cybernetics at the 2023 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA) at the ExCeL in London.

UKAEA’s RACE will showcase its Haptic Training Simulator (HTS) to the robotics community for the first time at the event.

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Created using technology originally developed to train dentists, the HTS is an outcome of a collaboration with Generic Robotics as part of UKAEA’s LongOps programme. This is a £12 million ($15 million) UK and Japanese project to develop robotic capability that will support the delivery of faster and safer decommissioning in Fukushima Daiichi in Japan and Sellafield, funded by UKRI, TEPCO and the NDA.

The HTS is designed to provide remote handling operators working in fusion energy and nuclear fission decommissioning with a unique sense of touch, enabling them to experience tactile sensations whilst rehearsing complex manoeuvres.

Professor Rob Buckingham, UKAEA’s director of RACE, said: “UKAEA is inviting the ICRA community to put our minds together – we are open to collaborations with industry, academia and researchers – to help deliver fusion economically and sustainably.

“Robotics is key for the entire lifecycle of future fusion power stations, from design and maintenance through to decommissioning. The Haptic Training Simulator is a great example of how successful collaborations and tech transfer between different sectors can support shared goals to provide a better solution for all.”

Since its opening at Culham, Oxford, in 2016, UKAEA’s RACE facility has conducted research and development in the use of robotics to protect people in challenging environments.

UKAEA’s ‘Robotics in fusion energy workshop’ will take place at ICRA on Wednesday 31 May 2023.