The robot dog taking on a nuclear reactor

This robot dog is helping decommission a nuclear power reactor. Engineers are working to dismantle a nuclear power reactor in Dounreay in the very north of Scotland.

The nuclear power station, like many others across the UK, was built in the 1950s. At the time, they were built with very little thought as to what should happen to them when they were no longer required.

The plant in Dounreay closed in the 1990s and is now in the process of being decommissioned.

With over 200 separate facilities and a bewildering array of radioactive materials, it is a huge challenge for engineers.

Fortunately they have the help of ‘Spot’.

Spot, originally developed by Boston Dynamics in the United States, is now routinely used in the inspections of buildings, equipment and in the sorting of waste.

The robot dog is able to navigate highly complex environments and map out the inner workings of a nuclear reactor.

Will Newsom, CEO of Createc, said: “We are able to start building up this image of where the radiation is”

He added: “At the end of it we can produce a 3D model that then gives the engineers an amazing dataset that informs how they are going to decommission this whole facility”