New robot swabbing technology trialled for the first time at Sellafield

Sellafield Ltd and the Robotics & AI Collaboration (RAICo) have successfully completed the first trial of a specially designed, patent-pending contamination swabbing tool, mounted on a quadruped robot, in an area containing radioactive material.

The trial demonstrates how robotics could 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 – a collaboration between the UK Atomic Energy Authority, the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA), Sellafield Ltd and the wider NDA nuclear estate, the University of Manchester, and AWE Nuclear Security Technologies – as part of its mission to accelerate the deployment of robotics and AI for nuclear decommissioning and fusion engineering.

Key to its 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.

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.

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 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.

Deon Bulman, ROV Equipment Programme Lead, Remote Technologies Group at Sellafield Ltd, commented:

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.

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.

Dr. Kirsty Hewitson, Director, RAICo commented:

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.

Furthermore, the deployment at Sellafield follows a similar successful inactive test at the Joint European Torus (JET) facility in Culham earlier in 2025, suggesting that this new technology could have an impact on both nuclear decommissioning and fusion engineering sites.