Robot dog called in to do job too dangerous for humans

By Elizabeth Hunter

A robot dog was used to flip a switch at a nuclear site - as it was too unsafe for workers.

The machine - named Spot - was used to turn on a crane in order to pick up containers of waste at the Dounreay site near Thurso in Scotland.

The switchboard that powers the crane had laid inactive for around two years after safety restrictions forbade workers from approaching.

However, Spot is equipped with an attachment which allowed it to hold a pole which was used to hit the switch to start the crane.

A team at Doureay approached the Robotics and Artificial Intelligence Collaboration (RAICo) to help work on a solution - and a week of trials took place with a mock switchboard to confirm that Spot would be able to flick the "on" switch.

Staff at Nuclear Restoration Services, which runs the site, said there was a loud "clunk" noise once Spot achieved its goal.

Senior Facility Manager Suzy Nellies said: "Thanks to outstanding teamwork between the decommissioning team, RAICo, our colleagues in Works Control, and the electrical team, we have achieved an excellent outcome.

"We can now proceed with modernizing the crane to bring it back into full service.

Kate Canning, NDA’s Head of R&D added: "This is a fantastic example of collaboration through RAICo leading to acceleration of deployment of robotic technology to 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."