Session: 01-01: Robotics and Remote Handling and Viewing Technologies

Paper Number: 110337

110337 - A Holistic Approach to Digitalisation and Robotics in the Nuclear Back-End 

Improving working conditions is essential for a safer, and more sustainable future. Decommissioning and waste management (WM) are essential parts of the lifecycle to consider in terms of sustainability, as it often involves risks to workers or the environment. Robots can offer a solution by performing tasks in hazardous environments, handling contaminated materials, and performing repetitive and monotonous tasks. Hence, robots can free up human workers to focus on more complex, safe, and higher-level tasks. Making robots more autonomous through integration with AI-enabled digital twins is essential for a safe and efficient digitalization of the back-end. Through simulation and analysis of the performance of robots and facilities under various conditions, safe and sustainable robot deployments can be ensured. HADRON (Hazard Aware Digitalization and RObotics in Nuclear and other domains) is a holistic approach aiming to optimize the working processes while keeping humans away from dangerous, dull, and dirty tasks. This approach has been the core of the RoboDECOM project where heterogenous mobile robots were utilized in a pilot study to carry out a set of subtasks of the decommissioning process. The HADRON approach was applied in RoboDECOM and several other projects to ensure better alignment with regulations and standards in the nuclear back-end. This study presents findings related to HADRON from the RoboDECOM project (focusing on integration of digital, robotic and physics modeling technologies for safety-critical applications), Euratom SHARE (providing a innovation roadmap base on a large scale survey of innovation needs and opportunities in the nuclear back-end), Euratom PREDIS (specifically about a digital decision making platform for waste predisposal activities) and Euratom HARPERS (specifically about harmonizing safety standards and regulations with outlook into impacts of application of digital and robotic systems in the nuclear). Therefore, the main focus of the HADRON approach is to support safer decommissioning practices impactful for economic and environmental crucial aspects.

Presenting Author: Réka Szőke Institute for Energy Technology

Presenting Author Biography: Réka Szőke is Principal Scientist at Institute for Energy Technology (IFE) in Norway. She is the Administrative Manager for the IAEA Collaborating Centre for Digitalization of Knowledge Management for Nuclear Decommissioning, the Technical Coordinator for the HARPERS EURATOM project and responsible for several activities in the OECD Halden Reactor Project. During her 15+ years career she also worked at the Centre for Energy Research of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. Réka has a strong background in material science and nuclear chemistry and holds a PhD from the Eötvös Loránd University in Hungary.