News archive
Introducing the RACE Annual: Advancing Robotics and AI for a Sustainable Future
This document highlights ten key initiatives that align with UKAEA’s strategic goals: 2025 RACE Annual These achievements would not have been possible without the dedication and collaboration of our partners, colleagues, and supporters. We extend our sincere gratitude to all who have contributed to these successes. If you are interested in contributing to these ground-breaking ...
UKAEA and F-REI sign collaboration in robotics research
The MOC fosters UK-Japan collaboration between the government-funded organisations, enhancing joint research opportunities and advancing science and innovation in key technical areas, such as: UKAEA’s Executive Director, Prof. Rob Buckingham, commented: “We are delighted to collaborate with F-REI, as both organisations share a strong commitment to advancing science and innovation in key technical areas, including ...
An independent paper from the UK’s Robotics Growth Partnership outlines a roadmap to position the UK as a global leader in robotics
The Robotics Growth Partnership (RGP) is an independent advisory body established by government in 2019 with the aim of putting the UK at the cutting edge of the global smart robotics revolution, boosting economic productivity and unlocking benefits across society. Professor Rob Buckingham OBE FREng, Executive Director of UKAEA, a member of RGP, said, “It ...
Lasers4MaaS Takes Off: Pioneering AI-Powered Laser Welding for Renewable Energy and Beyond
Lasers4MaaS aims to address the pressing need for sustainable and efficient manufacturing solutions. It will build on the concept of servitisation of manufacturing resources to produce on-demand customised products with high quality, flexibility and short lead times. Driving Down Costs and Boosting Efficiency Across Multiple Sectors The project has the potential to revolutionise laser welding ...
RACE celebrates 10 years of growth
RACE (Remote Applications in Challenging Environments), the UKAEA’s centre for Remote Applications in Challenging Environments, celebrates its 10th anniversary this year. This is a fantastic opportunity to reflect upon and celebrate all our collaborations and what we have achieved. Robotics and embodied AI are core to a successful, sustainable new energy economy. They give us ...
Fukushima-Daiichi Decommissioning Research 2024
The LongOps project was funded by the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA), the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) and TEPCO as a collaborative research project to develop digital tools to enable faster, safer and more cost-effective decommissioning. From Japan, the focus was the decommissioning of the Fukushima Daiichi reactors. In the UK, it was Windscale Pile ...
Autonomous robot paves the way for future fusion maintenance
The United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) and the Oxford Robotics Institute (ORI), University of Oxford, have achieved a first-ever autonomous robot deployment in a fusion facility. The 35-day trial took place in UKAEA’s Joint European Torus (JET) facility, which until its recent scientific operational shutdown, was one of the largest and most powerful fusion ...
Open call for PhD topic proposals
We invite academic institutions to propose innovative PhD research topics that advance fields relevant to remote maintenance of fusion energy machines. About RACE RACE is world-leading in the field of remote maintenance of fusion energy devices. Every year, RACE hosts PhD students based at UK universities working on topics relevant to this mission. You can ...
UK Atomic Energy Authority signs collaboration agreement with the Korea Institute of Fusion Energy
Following the signing of an MOU in 2023, UKAEA’s centre for robotics, RACE, and the Korea Institute of Fusion Energy (KFE) have defined a project and officially launched a collaboration. The project will research, commission and test the In-vessel Rapid Inspection System (IRIS), a novel robotic system that can be rapidly deployed for lightweight tasks ...
Challenge 1: Optimising Architectures with Artificial Intelligence
Designing future fusion powerplants can be a mind-bending balancing act, where you constantly make trade-offs between plasma physics, material properties, magnet positions and remotely operated, probably autonomous, machines for maintenance and upgrades. RACE is leading the development of remote maintenance technologies to maintain the world’s fusion devices, such as JET, ITER, STEP and DEMO. Our ...
