Create Technologies Ltd., or Createc, which develops and applies technologies for nuclear decommissioning around the world, has won a contract to develop systems for underwater operations.
The Cockermouth, U.K.-based company provides imaging, sensors, and robotics systems to sectors including defense, security, rail, and nuclear industries. Createc employs 29 people, including technical experts and developers in fields such as computer vision, robotics, nuclear measurement, and optics.
The company said it has previously demonstrated how off-the-shelf collaborative robots can work dextrously and safely in complex environments. It has also shown the utility of cobots in hazardous remote operations, including dry nuclear decommissioning operations.
Createc is now developing the technology for underwater nuclear decommissioning. It is working on the project with fellow Cumbrian company Fortis Remote Technology, which specializes in the development of underwater tooling for both nuclear and offshore sectors.
“Opening underwater nuclear decommissioning operations to cobots would enable tasks not previously possible with conventional 'master-slave' robots,” stated Matt Mellor, CEO of Createc. “This would be of benefit to asset owners and decommissioning engineers, as well as cobot makers and the associated support supply chain.”
“Many nuclear processes happen underwater, such as fueling and defueling reactors, fuel storage, waste processing and storage and many steps in the reprocessing cycle, particularly in older facilities,” he added. “In decommissioning, items of equipment need to be characterised, dismantled and manipulated, which is a one-time task. Developing bespoke equipment for these applications is costly and often risky due to high uncertainties.”
Createc collaborates to adapt equipment for underwater use
The Underwater Cobot Decommissioning (UCODE) project aims to build on the Iris software developed by spin-out Createc Robotics for operating robotics in dry nuclear decommissioning. It will combine it with Fortis’ established techniques for adapting sensors and equipment for submerged operation, safely enclosing machinery to operate underwater.
“Recently, significant progress has been shown by Createc and others in using cobots to carry out remote nuclear operations in dry environments,” said Mellor. “Although not designed to be radiation-tolerant, cobots are typically able to operate in radiation fields around 1,000 times more intense than it would be reasonable to expose a human to.”
“Underwater operations are a different case; cobots are all designed to operate in air,” he explained. “Developing bespoke underwater cobots for the nuclear industry is unlikely to be economically justifiable.”
Fortis, based in Broughton-in-Furness and Barrow, offers specialist design, specification, manufacture, assembly, and operation of remote technology solutions in challenging environments. It specialises in the development of technology solutions where access by humans is difficult or dangerous, including subsea and nuclear environments.
For this project, Fortis has carried out the design work on the oversuit—the waterproof jacket—for the cobot to be able to function effectively underwater. Fortis is also carrying out testing of the innovative equipment at its specialist center in Barrow.
“The key contribution of this project is to combine Createc’s experience and technical know-how in applying cobots to nuclear operations, with Fortis’s capability to develop oversuit pressure enclosures with rotating joints that can enable such robots to operate in shallow water,” Mellor said.
Decommissioning demonstration planned
The proposed experiment for this project is to demonstrate that a cobot protected for shallow water can successfully carry out tasks as a low-cost, general-purpose system for underwater operations that might be encountered in decommissioning a nuclear reactor.
“As well as ensuring tasks can be carried out more safely, this technology is designed to be reusable, which makes it much more cost-efficient,” said Darren Ball, technical director at Fortis.
The project is supported by RIMA (Robotics for Inspection and Maintenance), a four-year European initiative that aims to maximise the potential of robotic applications in inspection and maintenance across multiple sectors. RIMA provides financial and technical support to cross-border experiments involving small and medium-sized enterprises, and it is establishing a network of 13 Digital Innovation Hubs.
Createc holds Queen’s Awards for International Trade and Innovation. It has also won awards for innovation from The Institution for Engineering and Technology (IET), The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), and Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA).
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