Page 12 - Demo

12continued from page 10continued on next pageresulted in a dose of radiation significant enough to result in Sellafield%u2019s legislative prosecution. This prompted Sellafield to explore alternative means of protecting operators to reduce the likelihood of similar incidents in future.In turn, these explorations - which have focused on robotic augmentations to glovebox operations - are now being deployed on the task of decommissioning the Sellafield site. The goal is to improve the safety of its decommissioning programme, whilst also decreasing time and cost. Our job at AtkinsR%u00e9alis was to define the scope, conduct the investigations, and develop and deliver a glovebox solution that would expedite the decommissioning of the gloveboxes on the Sellafield site. Robot-readyRobotic solutions for nuclear sites are not ready-made. They must be carefully honed and adapted to their proposed environment but without being so bespoke that costs spiral out of control. Our work with Sellafield involved longterm collaborative scoping and design, both with the users and with supply chain partners. The robot arm, created by Kinova in Canada, provides an ideal basis for remote glovebox operations because of its form factor, reach, and payload specifications. Utilising proven equipment provides reliability while reducing cost, preventing overspend on the development of unnecessarily bespoke solutions. Nonetheless, they must be developed so that they%u2019re suitable for the specific purposes required by the nuclear sites commissioning them. The reason this solution was chosen is because it fits the gloveports, not just the glovebox itself. This means that it can be introduced and utilised in existing facilities without significant modification to the boxes.In order to balance the needs of the site with the art of the possible, the project was conceived across two workstreams: Study and Sandbox. Study focused on defining the problem. How many gloveboxes does Sellafield have? How are they constrained by their tasks? How do they operate, and what hazards do such operations present? Exploring these questions in our Study phase allowed us to provide Sellafield with a complete inventory of gloveboxes, gathering the site data and operational requirements to inform and steer the development work in the Sandbox phase. Using these insights, the Sandbox workstream sought to investigate, test, develop, and refine a system based on the needs and limitations identified in the Study phase. This allowed us to push the boundaries of our solution while ensuring that it was suitable for practical application to Sellafield%u2019s specific needs. Our challenge was to develop a system for glovebox Post Operational Clean Out (POCO) and decommissioning, consisting of a toolbox capable of delivering against requirements. From characterisation and monitoring to removal of sharps, to cleaning, disassembly, and size reduction, our solution had to meet various operational needs while also adhering to the restrictions of the size, access, and continued containment of glovebox units. Such complexity demanded flexible, adaptable technology. Kinova%u2019s Gen3 fits the bill: a highly dexterous commercial robot, small enough to pass through the 6-inch glovebox Left: Robotic arm deployment via existing glove portRight:Grabber tool placing dummy pellets into containers. Belo Unique sleeving system ensures containment at all times