An interactive planning chamber is now operating at the Robotics and Artificial Intelligence Collaboration site in West Cumbria, in northwest England. AtkinsRéalis created it with Sellafield Ltd and Igloo Vision Ltd, putting remotely driven robotic systems and visual data in one room. The partners expect the arrangement to cut the hours staff spend in hazardous zones by as much as 40 percent, using robots and live streams for remote work and watch-keeping.
The circular display is sized for as many as ten people. Engineers, operators and project staff can enter digital copies of plants and work cases before going on site. A group assigned to a restricted zone can follow the path in virtual space while pictures from robots already in the plant update as conditions shift. The same room is meant for joint planning, so mixed teams can try methods and react when new problems appear.
The project draws on AtkinsRéalis' Lava Lab network and on an earlier immersive room that Sellafield Ltd installed at Hinton House in Risley, Cheshire. AtkinsRéalis said it linked Igloo Vision's platform to Sellafield Ltd's digital records and operating needs, and that early talks among the partners kept the design usable while leaving room to grow. RAICo1, in Whitehaven, Cumbria, opened in 2022 as the first UK hub of this kind. Sellafield Ltd and the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority led it with the UK Atomic Energy Authority, the University of Manchester and the National Nuclear Laboratory. The site can try kit in stand-ins for Sellafield conditions, including gloveboxes and water tanks. Richard Brook, AtkinsRéalis digital solutions lead for nuclear, Rav Chunilal, Sellafield Ltd head of robotics and artificial intelligence, and Kerry Head, Igloo Vision chief executive, each said the room lets teams test ideas before work starts and limit time in hazardous settings.
A shared 360-degree room fed by live robot imagery is meant to cut hazardous exposure while UK teams plan decommissioning work.
The story so far — Sellafield
- July 9, 2026 Sellafield says it is the only UK site able to manage all forms of nuclear waste
- July 10, 2026 Sellafield Teams Finish Complex Retrieval of Flocculant From Legacy Tank
- August 19, 2026 West Cumbria hub opens immersive room for Sellafield decommissioning this story
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