Mechanical mutts make it official: Now full-time at Sellafield’s hot zones
https://www.theregister.com/2026/01/30/sellafield_robot_dogs/
By Joe Fay
Sellafield Ltd is tapping Boston Dynamics’ Spot robot dogs for routine, business-as-usual cleanup at the UK’s nuclear site. Spot will roam the grounds, perform inspections, and monitor conditions, letting humans keep PPE to a minimum while staying out of harm’s way. The work still involves gamma rays and alpha particles, but the robots take on the riskiest tasks, reducing exposure and speeding up the decommissioning process. It’s a practical shift that aims to cut downtime, improve data capture, and keep crews safe as decades of cleanup continue. If the plan proves durable, it could redefine how complex sites handle long cleanups—robot dogs doing the dark, dangerous stretches while humans handle the planning and oversight.