Robot dog reactivates crane at potentially hazardous Dounreay nuclear site amid shutdown

A robot dog was recently sent into a potentially hazardous area to reactivate a crane at a nuclear site near Thurso.

The machine, called Spot, assisted staff at Dounreay’s Fuel Cycle Area by reactivating a crucial building crane in a reprocessing plant.

The crane was deactivated at the switchboard in 2023 due to concerns about the ageing asset, and workers have not been allowed to use it since due to safety restrictions.

However, the site needed to use the crane for a waste shipment as works to shut the site down continue.

Spot, which has an attachment that allows it to grip a short pole, was used to push the “on” button and start the crane.

Engineers from the Robotics and Artificial Intelligence Collaboration, a collaboration between UK Atomic Energy Authority, Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, Sellafield Ltd, and the University of Manchester, worked on the solution to powering up the crane.

Robotics experts from RAICo brought Spot to the site and collaborated with the Dounreay team to conduct trials before determining Spot could push the switch.

Spot used a gripped pole to flip the switch, which site runners Nuclear Restoration Services, said made a loud “clunk” and signalled the operations success.

Senior facility manager, Suzy Nellies, thanked staff and the team for their work.

“We have achieved an excellent outcome. We can now proceed with modernising the crane to bring it back into full service,” she said.

Kate Canning, of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA), said the work was a “fantastic example” of how robotics can unlock a real-world challenge in an efficient and safe way.

“It’s supporting us to keep our people out of harm while developing them, transferring specialist knowledge and skills across our group,” she added.