Industry officials said Sellafield, a state-owned company under the U.K. nuclear decommissioning authority, recently disclosed that it is using Spot at nuclear cleanup sites.
Sellafield is responsible for decommissioning nuclear facilities in the U.K. and managing radioactive waste. Many of its worksites are high-risk areas where access is limited because of radiation and complex internal structures. Precise inspections require accurate data collection, but keeping workers safe has remained a challenge.
Sellafield said it introduced a robot-based inspection system and is using Spot to collect data and conduct remote checks in areas that are difficult for people to enter.
“Spot deployed on site is equipped with various sensing sensors and functions tailored to the nuclear facility environment, and its mobility allows it to move reliably even within complex structures, including rough terrain and stairs,” Sellafield said. It added that Spot captures 360-degree video and performs 3D LiDAR scanning to map site structures, while managers can monitor conditions remotely through real-time video streaming.
Sellafield said Spot is carrying out “radiation characterization” by measuring gamma and alpha radiation to confirm the presence of radioactive material. It also recently completed a trial of sample collection, or swabbing, to check for radiation contamination inside facilities. Sellafield said these tasks previously required workers to enter the area, and using Spot has significantly reduced exposure to risk.
The company said Spot can remain on site longer than people and that overall decommissioning work has accelerated since the robot was introduced.
Sellafield also said reduced use of personal protective equipment has lowered waste, and that access to high-quality real-time data has improved decision-making speed. It added that consistent, repeatable inspections have boosted operational efficiency.
Sellafield said the project was carried out through close cooperation among Boston Dynamics, companies developing site-specific robot solutions, systems integration specialists and the U.K. Robotics and Artificial Intelligence Collaboration, known as RAICo. It said the partnership enabled stable operations from trials through phased expansion.
Sellafield said it began trial operations with Spot in 2021 and verified its use in complex environments in 2022 and 2023. In 2024, it used Spot for inspections in high-risk radiation zones, collecting high-quality images and radiation data. In 2025, it said it successfully conducted a remote demonstration of Spot outside a power plant licensed area for the first time in the U.K. nuclear sector, confirming the potential for fully remote work that separates workers from the site.
Sellafield said it plans to work with partners to add new sensor packs to Spot and deploy it for broader tasks, including radiation mapping and environmental characterization.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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