Towards safe, efficient long-reach manipulation in nuclear decommissioning: A case study on fuel debris retrieval at Fukushima Daiichi

The potential of nuclear power in tackling the global energy crisis hinges on the development of effective decommissioning strategies. While the use of human workforce is still common practice, robotics has the potential to revolutionise decommissioning tasks. However, the restricted access, crammed environments, and harsh environmental conditions of nuclear power plants are not suited for conventional robots. In this scenario, the slender design and overall length of long-reach manipulators represent a promising solution. Yet, the same features that make these manipulators a suitable candidate, also introduce significant engineering challenges in design and control. The key challenges and hazards of nuclear decommissioning are summarized using the decommissioning of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant as a representative use case, in which a manipulator over 20 m long with 18 degrees of freedom is planned to be used for fuel debris retrieval. Critical research gaps on the state-of-the-art of long-reach manipulators for nuclear decommissioning are presented to summarise the focused key research areas ongoing and foster further research engagement within the community.