Sellafield Ltd and the Robotics & AI Collaboration (RAICo)
have successfully completed the first trial of a specially
designed, patent-pending contamination swabbing tool, mounted on
a quadruped robot, in an area containing radioactive material.
The trial demonstrates how robotics could support routine health
physics activities efficiently while reducing the need for people
to enter potentially hazardous environments.
Swabbing is a common task at the Sellafield site. The health
physics team carries out hundreds of swabs each day in
contaminated areas. Using circular paper filters, these swabs
monitor radiation levels across a range of surfaces, providing
vital data that informs decommissioning strategies and ensures
compliance with safety regulations.
The swabbing tool was developed through RAICo – a collaboration
between the UK Atomic Energy Authority, the Nuclear
Decommissioning Authority (NDA), Sellafield Ltd and the wider NDA
nuclear estate, the University of Manchester, and AWE Nuclear
Security Technologies – as part of its mission to accelerate the
deployment of robotics and AI for nuclear decommissioning and
fusion engineering.
Key to its design is its ability to replicate the complex and
dextrous non-linear swabbing motion normally carried out by
humans. This is possible due to the unique shape of the
attachment, alongside an off-the-shelf haptic controller from
Haply Robotics, and custom RAICo-developed software, which
captures an operator's real time hand movements and translates
them into commands for Spot's manipulator.
The deployment was conceived and planned by Sellafield's Remote
Technology Group, which is responsible for evaluating and
deploying robotics, AI, and unmanned systems at the site.
During the controlled deployment, Spot was sent into a restricted
area to inspect a simulated radiological spill and take a
physical swab from a mock-contaminated surface.
The robot used the new tool to swab the surface and bring back a
sample of blue chalk, used to simulate the contamination. The
robot completed the task successfully, showing that a process
traditionally performed by humans could potentially be carried
out remotely without compromising accuracy or safety.
The successful trial points to the potential for wider use of
robotics across Sellafield and the nuclear estate, helping to
reduce risk, improve efficiency, and maintain high safety
standards in nuclear decommissioning operations.
Deon Bulman, ROV Equipment Programme Lead, Remote Technologies
Group at Sellafield Ltd, commented:
Demonstrating a quadruped robot capable of remotely deploying
swabbing equipment represents the significant opportunity we have
to improve both safety and efficiency for nuclear decommissioning
here at Sellafield.
The quadruped's agility and stability allow it to access areas
that are hazardous for personnel, while intuitive haptic feedback
provides precise, human-like manipulation, reducing task time and
increasing confidence in the samples collected.
Together, these capabilities support faster, safer, and more
cost-effective decommissioning operations while pushing forward
the adoption of advanced robotics in the nuclear sector.
Dr. Kirsty Hewitson, Director, RAICo commented:
This deployment is a perfect example of how collaboration between
RAICo partners generates significant benefits for end users in
the nuclear sector. In this case, innovation developed
collaboratively by RAICo members, academic institutions, and
companies in the UK supply chain, was trialled at another
member's site to support a specific task that their frontline
operators have to deliver every day.
By working as a single, integrated team, we are all avoiding
duplication and together we are delivering greater value from the
public investment of taxpayer money.
Furthermore, the deployment at Sellafield follows a similar
successful inactive test at the Joint European Torus (JET)
facility in Culham earlier in 2025, suggesting that this new
technology could have an impact on both nuclear decommissioning
and fusion engineering sites.
