UK students to use AI, robotics to develop nuclear decommissioning solutions

UK students aged 16 to 18 are taking part in a challenge aimed at developing a small robot capable of transporting a mock nuclear waste barrel.

The challenge has been organized by the Robotics and AI Collaboration (RAICo) — a joint effort between the UK Atomic Energy Authority, the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, Sellafield Ltd and the University of Manchester – and the Industrial Solutions Hub (iSH), which delivers programs that build on West Cumbria’s nuclear heritage, expanding its technical capability and developing a regional industrial cluster.

The students belong to the West Lakes Academy and the Energy Coast University Technical College, both located in West Cumbria, an area on England’s north-west coast known for the 1957 Windscale fire, considered the worst nuclear accident in the United Kingdom’s history and one of the worst in the world. 

The fire, which occurred in Unit 1 of the two-reactor Windscale site, burned for three days and released radioactive fallout that spread across the UK and the rest of Europe. The two graphite-moderated reactors, referred to at the time as ‘piles,’ had been built as part of the British post-war atomic bomb project. 

Given the history of nuclear waste in the region, newer generations are being presented with real-world challenges within the nuclear fission and fusion decommissioning industry and are encouraged to use coding, engineering and creativity skills to come up with decommissioning solutions. Their projects may become a stand-out point for university or apprenticeship applications. 

Participants will demonstrate their new skills by showcasing their robots at the “Harnessing Robotics and AI for Challenging Environments” event taking place in Cumbria on May 21, 2024.

“The challenge encompasses the emerging technologies that will revolutionise industries in West Cumbria and beyond and will show young people that there are opportunities to be part of something innovative right on their doorstep,” Hannah Pears, education liaison officer at iSH, said in a media statement.