Quadrupedal robotic deployments

Project

E&M quadrupedal robotics deployment

Benefits

The use of quadrupedal robots reduces the risk to personnel by allowing tasks to be completed remotely. Utilising robotics can also allow tasks to be completed quickly, improving key decision making for plant engineers by providing complex data efficiently and accurately. Data retrieved by Spot has allowed project teams to start work which had not been expected for 10 years, and provided dose readings which allowed recovery of a storage vault which was out of operation for over 5 years.

Current Status

The use of quadrupeds is now business-as-usual for Sellafield Ltd, with any value stream being able to request support. Looking forward, the ROV programme is exploring ways to autonomously gather data.

Delivery Partners

AtkinsRéalis, Createc, UKAEA, University of Manchester

Contact Details

ROV.Ops.Support@sellafieldsites.com

Manual inspections can be hazardous and could put our workers at undue risk, especially in restricted areas such as active areas, confined spaces or areas with limited access. Current techniques can require personnel to work in areas that are contaminated, high dose, at height or require plant equipment to be shut down to allow access. This can reduce plant throughput or hide issues such as leaking steam or gas lines.

Special Equipment Services and the ROV equipment programme has secured funding via E&M to accelerate deployment of quadrupeds (four-legged robots) around the site, available for use by all value streams. This approach ensures effort is not repeated and expertise is not diluted. On-site training packages have been developed for operators to ensure safe operation in complex environments.

Having completed many high value remote controlled deployments already, delivering high value returns for the site, the ROV equipment programme is now looking at how to start gathering data autonomously. Autonomous data collection saves time and allows resource to be relocated to higher priority and value adding tasks. It also enables data to be collected in a more repeatable, frequent and structured manner than is possible manually.

This higher quality data feeds into existing systems to produce better results, such as earlier detection of failures, better data sets and the creation of a continuously updated single source of truth that enables new ways to effectively coordinate operations.

One of the quadrupeds deployed is Spot (featured on page 42 of the Annual R&D Review 2021/22). Using Spot as a versatile platform, different payloads can be installed to provide a variety of different capabilities. These include, but are not limited to, gamma and alpha characterisation, swabbing, size reduction, 3D LiDAR scanning, high-definition video and images, asset condition monitoring including gas leak detection and vibration analysis. The use of quadrupeds is now business-as-usual for Sellafield Ltd, and support can be requested internally via the ROV K2 inspection booking page.