Limiting exposure to radiation is a top priority for nuclear generators, and organizations are looking increasingly to agile mobile robots to keep their workforce safe. Boston Dynamics Spot allows customers to automate inspection tasks and map the presence of radiation on site. Additionally, operators are able to perform manual inspections remotely, either using the tablet controller from a safe distance or the Orbit fleet management software.

By leveraging the use of Spot in these routine or emergency response events, the time of exposure for workers is minimized – but how much radiation exposure can Spot take?

Recent tests using gamma sources at Los Alamos National Laboratory revealed that Spot can absorb 413 rem of gamma radiation without failure. That’s the equivalent to over 82 years worth of the annual worker dose as limited by the USNRC. Since neither the robot nor its payloads experienced a failure during the course of this testing these values are not the highest dose that Spot can absorb—only the highest that Spot has been exposed to thus far.

This robustness when dealing with radiation means that Spot brings a large potential return on investment to facilities. With the ability to rapidly deploy during emergent plant events, as well as increased radiation mapping data through more inspections – Spot helps keep workers out of harm’s way, and reduce the levels of human dose.

Download our whitepaper and learn more about our radiation resiliency testing on Spot.