The UK’s Sellafield Ltd and the Robotics & AI Collaboration (RAICo) have completed the first trial of a specially designed, patent-pending contamination swabbing tool, mounted on a quadruped robot, in an area containing radioactive material. Spot, the quadruped walking robot from Hyundai Motor Group’s robotics subsidiary Boston Dynamics, was used in the trials.
As well as Boston Dynamics key delivery partners supporting Spot’s development include Createc, which customised and deployed Spot for nuclear applications and supply and maintain the robotic inspection platform. AtkinsRéalis provided technology and systems integration expertise.
Sellafield, part of the UK Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA), said Spot is being utilised at nuclear facility decommissioning sites. The trial demonstrated how robotics can support routine health physics activities efficiently while reducing the need for people to enter potentially hazardous environments.
Swabbing is a common task at the Sellafield site. The health physics team carries out hundreds of swabs each day in contaminated areas. Using circular paper filters, these swabs monitor radiation levels across a range of surfaces, providing vital data that informs decommissioning strategies and ensures compliance with safety regulations.
The swabbing tool was developed through RAICo as part of its mission to accelerate the deployment of robotics and AI for nuclear decommissioning and fusion engineering. RAICo is a collaboration between the UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA), NDA, Sellafield Ltd and the wider NDA nuclear estate, the University of Manchester, and AWE Nuclear Security Technologies.
Key to the tool’s design is its ability to replicate the complex and dextrous non-linear swabbing motion normally carried out by humans. This is possible due to the unique shape of the attachment, alongside an off-the-shelf haptic controller from Haply Robotics, and custom RAICo-developed software, which captures an operator’s real time hand movements and translates them into commands for Spot’s manipulator.
During the controlled deployment, Spot was sent into a restricted area to inspect a simulated radiological spill and take a physical swab from a mock-contaminated surface. The robot used the new tool to swab the surface and bring back a sample of blue chalk, used to simulate the contamination. The robot completed the task successfully, showing that a process traditionally performed by humans could potentially be carried out remotely without compromising accuracy or safety.
The deployment was conceived and planned by Sellafield’s Remote Technology Group, which is responsible for evaluating and deploying robotics, AI, and unmanned systems at the site. The successful trial points to the potential for wider use of robotics across Sellafield and the nuclear estate, helping to reduce risk, improve efficiency, and maintain high safety standards in nuclear decommissioning operations.
“Demonstrating a quadruped robot capable of remotely deploying swabbing equipment represents the significant opportunity we have to improve both safety and efficiency for nuclear decommissioning here at Sellafield,” said Deon Bulman, Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) Equipment Programme Lead, Remote Technologies Group at Sellafield Ltd. “The quadruped’s agility and stability allow it to access areas that are hazardous for personnel, while intuitive haptic feedback provides precise, human-like manipulation, reducing task time and increasing confidence in the samples collected. Together, these capabilities support faster, safer, and more cost-effective decommissioning operations while pushing forward the adoption of advanced robotics in the nuclear sector.”
Ewan Scholefield, systems engineer for engineering and maintenance at Sellafield Ltd, originated the idea of using Spot in emergency scenarios. He commented: “Deployments like this demonstrate how quickly the use of robotics is moving in the nuclear decommissioning industry. People are starting to recognise the versatility of robots like Spot and how they can be used to carry out a whole range of tasks. This is being accelerated through the availability of bespoke tools, attachments, and interfaces like those produced by RAICo that enable robots to mimic specific human movements, such as swabbing.”
According to RAICo Director Dr Kirsty Hewitson, “This deployment is a perfect example of how collaboration between RAICo partners generates significant benefits for end users in the nuclear sector. In this case, innovation developed collaboratively by RAICo members, academic institutions, and companies in the UK supply chain, was trialled at another member’s site to support a specific task that their frontline operators have to deliver every day. By working as a single, integrated team, we are all avoiding duplication and together we are delivering greater value from the public investment of taxpayer money.”
The deployment at Sellafield follows a similar successful inactive test at the Joint European Torus (JET) facility in Culham in 2025, suggesting that this new technology could have an impact on both nuclear decommissioning and fusion engineering sites.
Sellafield began trial operations of Spot in 2021 and verified its operational feasibility in complex environments throughout 2022 and 2023. In 2024, Spot was being used for inspection work even in high-risk radioactive zones, collecting high-quality on-site images and radiation data.
Spot is equipped with various detection sensors and functions tailored for nuclear facility environments, and its excellent mobility enables stable movement within complex structures including rough terrain and stairs. It also performs radiation characterisation work to confirm the presence of radioactive materials through gamma and alpha radiation measurements, and recently successfully conducted sample collection test operations to verify radiation contamination within the facility.
Sellafield explained that since Spot can remain on-site and continue inspections for longer periods than humans, the overall pace of decommissioning work has accelerated since its introduction. In 2025, a successful remote demonstration of Spot was conducted from outside the licensed power plant zone for the first time in the UK nuclear sector, confirming the feasibility of fully remote operations that separate workers from the site.
