World-first as UKAEA deploy autonomous robot to operate at JET

United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA)

AN AUTONOMOUS robot has carried out maintenance works at the Joint European Torus (JET), marking a world-first for the use of robotics in fusion power operations.

The UK Atomic Energy Agency (UKAEA) partnered with the University of Oxford’s Oxford Robotics Institute (ORI) to demonstrate the reliability of robots operating in fusion facilities for long periods.

Robert Skilton, head of research at UKAEA’s Remote Applications in Challenging Environments division, said: “This deployment demonstrates that autonomous robots can enhance safety and cut costs.

“These ‘next generation’ solutions are becoming ready to be used in other industrial facilities such as nuclear decommissioning, environmental clean-up, and disaster relief.”

Autonomous robotic inspections

The largest fusion experiment in the world, JET ceased scientific operations in December last year.

The facility is still highly hazardous after its final deuterium-tritium experiments, and maintenance and inspections are part of the facility’s extensive decommissioning process.

The inspection used ORI’s autonomy platform, AutoInspect, to control Boston Dynamics’ “robot” dog Spot around JET, mapping the facility and taking sensor readings of the environment.

Data on the robot’s progress was collected twice a day and assessed by UKAEA’s research team on the reliability of using autonomous robots for decommissioning works.

The research from the trial will be used to plan the next stages of JET’s decommissioning, which UKAEA aims to complete by around 2040.