Autonomous Robots for Manipulating Hazardous Substances

If you are interested in robotics, and have strong programming and software engineering skills, this could be a project for you. Successful completion of this project could lead to career prospects inside the UKAEA. Supervision will be provided jointly by the Department of Computer Science at the University of York and the UKAEA/RACE.

Gloveboxes are sealed containers used to manipulate hazardous materials. They are, for example, used in Chemistry laboratories in a range of experiments, and in nuclear decommissioning tasks. Use of these boxes can cause physical strain, and so limit the amount of time that a human can operate them. To allow a robot to operate hazardous materials, however, we need to trust that robot. Potential consequences if they fail in their operation can range from wasted time and materials, to more serious incidents

Advances in mechanics, electronics, computer vision, and artificial intelligence have recently enabled the development of exciting new robotic systems, varying from driverless vehicles to home assistants and industrial robots. In this project, we will apply state of the art technology for modelling, simulation, and testing for analysis and verification of robots that can be used with gloveboxes. We will consider, first, existing technology to evaluate the limits of what can be achieved with existing robots and existing Software Engineering techniques. Second, we will consider advanced testing techniques that support evaluation of the designs for a variety of experiments and unexpected changes to the cupboard. Contributions of the work will span from improvements to automation to novel techniques for testing. Our challenge is to enable and promote development approaches that provide evidence that the robot can be trusted to work in the lab, dealing with sensitive materials and experiments, and around humans.

The successful candidate will benefit from the general training provided by the Department of Computer Science. This will cover topics such as security, research management and leadership, collaborations, employability, public engagement and communication. Moreover, the candidate will benefit from inclusion in a cohort for our Centre for Doctoral Training on Autonomous Robotic Systems for Laboratory Experiments. This will involve regular meetings with students working on similar topics.

This project will be part-funded by the UK Atomic Energy Authority’s RACE (Remote Applications in Challenging Environments, https://www.race.ukaea.uk) robotics and remote handling centre. There will be an opportunity to work from RACE about two weeks per year. RACE was founded in 2014 as part of the UKAEA’s Fusion Research and Development Programme to design and test robots for operating in some of the most challenging environments imaginable. UKAEA’s wider mission is to lead the commercial development of fusion power and related technology and position the UK as a leader in sustainable nuclear energy.

Based at its Culham Campus HQ, near Oxford, and a new technology facility in South Yorkshire, UKAEA has, until recently, operated a Joint European Torus (JET) fusion experiment on behalf of scientists from 28 European countries; now it is leading the decommissioning of the JET machine. UKAEA is keeping the UK at the forefront of fusion as the world comes together to build the first powerplant-scale experiment, ITER—one step away from the realisation of fusion as a low-carbon energy source. UKAEA is involved in future fusion demonstration powerplant design activities such as DEMO and the UK’s future STEP powerplant.

Application deadline

The deadline for applications is 24th March 2025.

Candidates will be told if they have been shortlisted for an interview as soon as possible. If shortlisted, they should expect to be interviewed promptly.

Notification of funding will not be declared until mid-April of 2025.