A robot dog will be used to support the automatic characterisation of materials, walls and floors during the decommissioning and dismantling of Spain’s Santa María de Garoña NPP.
Investing in this technology will enable radioactive waste management agency Empresa Nacional de Residuos Radiactivos (Enresa) to optimise the identification of non-contaminated areas and improve efficiency and to optimise the process of measuring and characterising radioactive waste destined for the El Cabril disposal facility.
Enresa will use a state-of-the-art autonomous robot, designed to automatically and accurately perform radiological characterisation tasks. This will be capable of autonomous movement and will improve the measurement and characterisation of radioactive waste enabling accurate classification of radiation areas and determining the level of contamination.
The robot will be developed and launched through a temporary joint venture (UTE – Unión Temporal de Empresas) between Alisys and Grupo Dominguis Energy Services (GDES), within the framework of an ambitious technological project. Based on Boston Dynamics technology, a bespoke system will be developed using the Spot Enterprise quadruped robot, featuring a high-precision robotic arm with the capacity to incorporate different measuring instruments and advanced spectrometric analysis software, which will allow for real-time interpretation of the data obtained.
This technology will offer a comprehensive and autonomous solution, capable of operating in complex environments. The system will be connected to a cloud platform, enabling management of the collected data and remote operation of the robot. The project comprises solution development, testing and commissioning, and the training of Enresa personnel who will eventually operate it at the facility.
