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<p>A significant step has been achieved in the development of REACH, an advanced remote access, characterisation and handling technology with the potential to address restricted-access challenges across Sellafield and the wider NDA estate, and with relevance to other industrial settings where access is restricted.</p><p>Developed by Eadon Consulting, REACH – Remote Extendable Access, Characterisation and Handling – was recently demonstrated to stakeholders from across the NDA estate at Eadon’s facility in Cockermouth. The demonstration showed how an initial challenge-led concept has progressed through Game Changers into a maturing engineered system capable of being remotely deployed, extended and articulated to reach spaces that are difficult, unsafe or impossible for people to enter directly.</p><p>The technology was originally developed in response to the challenge of <a href="https://www.gamechangers.technology/challenge/Post_Operational_Clean_Out" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Post Operational Clean Out</a>, where limited access to complex, highly radioactive environments can restrict inspection, characterisation and data collection. As James Hill from Eadon Consulting explained, “REACH will enable remote data collection and sampling from locations it hasn’t been possible to access previously.” The system has been designed to help address this challenge by providing a flexible remote capability that can navigate constrained spaces, move through complex and off-axis geometries, and carry sensors or tooling to locations where direct access is not possible.</p><h2>Innovation in the Making</h2><p>The stakeholder demonstration represented the culmination of the second Proof of Concept phase and highlighted the significant progress made through Game Changers. Working closely with Sellafield stakeholders over a number of years, the project has moved through iterative design, build and testing phases, towards a more mature engineered system with potential for active deployment.</p><blockquote><span style="color: black;">“Without the Game Changers programme and FIS360 team working alongside us, this project would not have been as successful as it is. They have guided us through the process and pushed us to think about the next steps to commercialisation along the way,” said James Hill from Eadon Consulting.</span></blockquote><h2>Putting REACH Through its Paces</h2><p>During the demonstration, attendees saw the 110mm diameter carbon-fibre tube modules extend the system’s reach, while hinge and swivel modules enabled off-axis movement and rotation. The system is designed to carry payloads of up to 25kg over a span of up to 10m, supporting the deployment of interchangeable sensors and manipulator end-effectors for inspection, mapping, sampling, handling and data collection tasks.</p><p>Cockermouth-based robotics and sensors firm Createc supplied a mock N-VISAGE radiation sensor device, matched in size and weight to the operational tooling intended for a future active demonstration. This allowed the team to show how a representative payload could be carried and manoeuvred by REACH. The system’s Power over Ethernet capability was also demonstrated using a camera feed displayed live to the audience.</p><iframe class="ql-video" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/1210177445/"></iframe><h2>A Technology with Potential Across the NDA Estate</h2><p>The event brought together operations, engineering, characterisation, robotics, remediation and technology stakeholders to explore potential use cases and deployment requirements. Feedback captured during the demonstration will inform the next stage of development towards active use.</p><blockquote><span style="color: black;">Sellafield challenge owners said: “This kind of technology could have a really significant impact beyond just remediation. It's not just a solution for one area – across our business portfolios, we've all got challenges where we need to reach difficult-to-access locations. The ability to deploy sensors into those areas is a significant capability, and understanding what material we have is the first step to being able to effectively treat it.”</span></blockquote><h2>One Step Closer to Active Deployment</h2><p>Through Game Changers, REACH has progressed from Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 2 to TRL6, demonstrating the value of a structured innovation pathway that connects real nuclear sector challenges with specialist technology developers and end users. The project has advanced from early feasibility work into a demonstrable capability with the potential to reduce worker exposure, improve characterisation, support better decommissioning planning and reduce the need for bespoke access solutions.</p><p>The next planned stage is an active demonstration. Insights from the stakeholder event will be used to refine integration and deployment requirements, with potential for technology capability of this type to be applied more widely across Sellafield and the wider NDA estate where long reach, constrained access, off-axis navigation or remote characterisation and handling are required.</p>

<p>A successful REACH demonstration showcased significant progress in remote access technology, highlighting its potential to support safer characterisation, inspection and handling in difficult-to-access environments across the NDA estate.</p>

REACH demonstration highlights progress in remote access technology through Game Changers

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<p>Sellafield’s Special Nuclear Materials (SNM) portfolio, as part of its digital transformation strategy, is investigating methods to simplify and enhance training and engineering walkdowns using novel technologies such as VR/AR. Technologies of this type, including platforms such as StellarX, have strong potential to help operators rehearse key tasks in a risk-free digital twin before live execution. Members of the SNM team and other Sellafield stakeholders recently joined OVA Inc at Sellafield’s Engineering Centre of Excellence for a demonstration of StellarX, OVA’s AI-powered VR/MR platform.</p><p>The demonstration formed part of an ongoing Game Changers proof-of-concept project designed to test the potential of immersive training in high-hazard environments, improving operator readiness while reducing reliance on costly and risky physical training environments. The session introduced the StellarX platform and its application for complex operational training scenarios. The event brought together operational stakeholders, technical specialists, and training leads to explore how AI-enhanced VR can transform preparedness for a range of safety-critical tasks.</p><h2>Addressing the Challenge of High-Risk Training Environments</h2><p>Training for high-hazard operational tasks presents a consistent challenge across the nuclear industry. Whether dealing with glovebox operations or other controlled environments, organisations must balance the need for realism with strict safety requirements. Physical mock-ups are expensive to build and maintain, and even controlled settings can introduce unnecessary risk exposure during rehearsal of complex procedures.</p><p>As Chris Ballard, Senior Technical Manager at Sellafield, noted during the session, “It’s the application of VR that’s being done differently here. So for us this is absolute cutting edge technology, something that we need to bring in.” His comment reflected a broader organisational desire to modernise training approaches across a variety of technical and hazardous tasks.</p><p>The aim of the project was therefore to assess whether immersive VR could provide a safe, repeatable, and scalable method of preparing operators for complex operations across multiple domains, while maintaining procedural accuracy and confidence.</p><h2>Building a Flexible Digital Training Environment</h2><p>OVA’s platform, StellarX, was deployed to create realistic virtual training environments tailored to Sellafield’s operational requirements. The VR platform further enables creators to make immersive experiences with intuitive no-code tools, enabling training teams to build and modify scenarios without specialist programming skills.</p><p>This flexibility was central to the design approach. As OVA explained during development, “VR has a clear role to play in high-risk training environments, particularly where safety, procedural accuracy, and confidence are critical. It allows learners to practise complex procedures in a realistic but controlled environment before entering operational settings.”</p><p>The platform also supports guided interactive training and collaborative learning, allowing users to experience procedural workflows in structured yet adaptable environments. According to OVA, “immersive training can help modernise technical training by making it more engaging, repeatable, and accessible – learners experience real procedures rather than only reading about potential ones.”</p><h2>Demonstration at the Engineering Centre of Excellence</h2><p>The live demonstration combined a structured presentation with hands-on VR experience. Sellafield introduced the session before OVA walked attendees through the StellarX platform, highlighting scenario creation tools and demonstrating how training environments can be adapted quickly using no-code functionality across different operational use cases.</p><p>Attendees then used VR headsets to experience a simulated glovebox training scenario directly, while others observed the training flow on display screens. This dual setup allowed the wider group to assess user interaction, procedural realism, and training effectiveness in real time across multiple perspectives.</p><iframe class="ql-video" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/1198897491/"></iframe><p>The response was overwhelmingly positive. As Paul Nichol, Director of SNM Portfolio at Sellafield Ltd, observed, “This technology brings to life the factory of the future. I’m so encouraged by what I’ve seen.”</p><h2>Outcomes and Validation from Stakeholders</h2><p>The project’s success was underpinned by close engagement with plant glovebox and training subject matter experts, whose input ensured that the virtual environments accurately reflected real procedures and constraints across the selected scenarios. Their involvement helped validate both the technical fidelity and practical relevance of the simulations.</p><p>The live demonstration at Sellafield’s Engineering Centre of Excellence proved pivotal in demonstrating value to stakeholders and end users. Observers were able to see not only the realism of the environment but also how quickly users adapted to the interface and training tasks, reinforcing confidence in its broader applicability.</p><h2>Benefits for Sellafield and the Wider Nuclear Sector</h2><p>The project highlighted a unique opportunity to visualise a facility that is not yet built or in operation, giving a new potential tool to enable pre-visualisation and operational process simulation across the portfolio for new and existing facilities. Immersive VR training enables safer rehearsal of hazardous tasks, reduces exposure to operational risk, and improves operator confidence before live execution. These benefits extend across multiple types of high-consequence procedures, not limited to any single operational area.</p><p>It also supports more efficient refinement of procedures, allowing teams to test and iterate training scenarios in a digital environment before deployment in real-world settings.</p><p>The no-code nature of StellarX further enhances its value by reducing reliance on specialist developers and enabling faster updates to training content. This creates potential for more responsive and continuously improving training systems across diverse operational environments.</p><h2>Scaling Impact and Future Direction</h2><p>The collaboration highlighted the value of structured innovation pathways. OVA noted that “without the Game Changers programme, we would have had a much harder time demonstrating the value we could bring to Sellafield,” adding that support from FIS360 helped “create the right conditions for a productive project by supporting introductions, facilitating meetings, and structuring the path forward.”</p><p>Looking ahead, the project has opened pathways for broader adoption of immersive training across Sellafield operations and potentially wider nuclear industry applications. Future work will explore how such technology can be scaled with additional scenarios, expanded across teams and sites, and integrated into longer-term digital training strategies.</p>

<p>Demonstrated live at Sellafield’s Engineering Centre of Excellence, OVA’s StellarX immersive VR platform showcased how realistic virtual environments could transform training, improve preparedness, and reduce risk across high-hazard nuclear operations.</p>

Immersive training innovation arrives at Sellafield with StellarX demonstration

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<p>Ice Nine’s micro UAV has completed the first flight through a 150mm access port into an active nuclear environment at Sellafield, proving a safer, faster and lower-cost inspection solution enabled by the Game Changers programme.</p>

Ice Nine micro UAV reaches active deployment milestone at Sellafield

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<p>Game Changers has supported the journey of Seracam® from innovative imaging concept to commercially deployed nuclear solution, with Sellafield procurement marking a major milestone in safer, smarter decommissioning.</p>

Game Changers drives procurement of commercially ready Seracam® following successful Sellafield demonstration

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<p>Nuclear Restoration Services (NRS) has shortlisted a new wave of feasibility projects aimed at testing innovative approaches for the decommissioning of the British Experimental Pile 0 (BEPO) reactor at Harwell.</p><p>BEPO, a compact research reactor, provides an ideal testbed for novel technologies due to its low radiological risk and complex structure, including reinforced concrete shielding, graphite blocks, and thermal components. Access is constrained, waste volumes are significant, and the safe handling of activated materials is critical. The <a href="https://www.gamechangers.technology/challenge/Innovative_Solutions_for_BEPO_Reactor_Decommissioning:_Access,_Dismantling_&amp;_Materials_Handling,_Waste,_Digital_Solutions" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(63, 81, 181);">challenge</a> seeks technologies capable of creating safe access, dismantling reactor components, managing waste, and providing digital oversight, all with minimal human exposure.</p><p>Selected projects were awarded Game Changers feasibility funding, with work having started early in 2026 and decisions for proof-of-concept projects due soon.</p><h2>Project Highlights</h2><h3>Barrnon Ltd – B-IDP™</h3><p>Barrnon proposes the Barrnon Integrated Decommissioning Platform (B-IDP™), a modular, scalable system combining robotic handling, waste sorting and digital workflow. Concepts include BARRIER®-enclosed access creation, laser and saw-based dismantling of graphite and thermal shields, semi-automated waste segregation, and full digital traceability for each waste item, demonstrated on the BEPO reactor.</p><h3>New Millennium Nuclear Technologies International (NMNTI)</h3><p>NMNTI’s feasibility explores an integrated suite of remotely deployable tools – TruPro®, TruProid®, and TruGraphiLift® – to advance BEPO decommissioning. Proposed concepts include remote access, handling of reactor components, improved waste characterisation, and digital data capture to support safer, faster, and scalable dismantling methods across the UK nuclear fleet.</p><h3>Eadon – REACH</h3><p>The REACH platform is a modular, reconfigurable system designed for remote access into hazardous spaces through small access ports. Capabilities include transporting sensors, scanners and robotic tools for inspection, data gathering and sample retrieval. REACH can deploy horizontally or vertically, with articulation enabling tasks in locations inaccessible to conventional systems while carrying substantial payloads.</p><h3>Singular Machines Ltd</h3><p>Singular Machines proposes AI-driven automated design for tooling to extract BEPO graphite safely and efficiently. The concept aims to shorten design cycles from months to days and demonstrate scalability by generating bespoke tooling variants for multiple NRS reactor sites, providing an economical pathway for wider fleet application.</p><h2>Collaborative Delivery and Rapid Progress</h2><p>Solving the challenge of BEPO decommissioning is being driven by close collaboration between NRS, the Game Changers delivery team, and potential solution providers. FIS360 Project Manager Kirstie Ryan highlighted the swift progress achieved, from developing and sharing the challenge statement, through application down‑selection, to initiating feasibility projects. Clear communication, prompt responses to queries, well‑structured processes, and strong, proactive engagement from all parties have enabled NRS to move from initial challenge definition to reviewing 60 applications and completing four feasibility projects within just a few months.</p><h2>Benefits Beyond BEPO</h2><p>These feasibility projects aim to accelerate BEPO’s decommissioning, demonstrating innovative technologies that could transform nuclear decommissioning across the UK. By improving safety, reducing costs, and enabling smarter handling of radioactive materials, successful concepts could be adapted across NRS’s 50+ reactor sites, helping the UK nuclear sector decommission legacy reactors faster and more efficiently.</p>

<p>Four projects have been selected by Nuclear Restoration Services to test innovative technologies for decommissioning the BEPO reactor at Harwell, with potential to improve safety, efficiency and scalability across UK nuclear sites.</p>

NRS launches Game Changers feasibility projects for BEPO reactor decommissioning

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<p>The University of Nottingham and Ice9 Robotics are developing an inflatable snake robot for inspecting pipework at Sellafield, potentially improving inspection capability, reducing operational risk and supporting safer nuclear operations.</p>

News

REACH demonstration highlights progress in remote access technology through Game Changers

Immersive training innovation arrives at Sellafield with StellarX demonstration

Ice Nine micro UAV reaches active deployment milestone at Sellafield

Game Changers drives procurement of commercially ready Seracam® following successful Sellafield demonstration

NRS launches Game Changers feasibility projects for BEPO reactor decommissioning

Game Changers launches proof-of-concept project for pipe inspection technology