The Impact of a Haptic Digital Twin in the Nuclear Industry and Potential Applications

Robotic systems that enable operators to remotely manipulate delicate materials with high dexterity, and sufficient force feedback will pave the path for improvements of the safe maintenance and decommissioning processes within the nuclear industry. Training the operators, however, for challenging conditions (e.g., low visibility, restricted motion in confined spaces, and limited interaction force) in a time- and cost-effective manner is difficult. This paper introduces the economic and operational implications of using haptic digital twin technology to prepare operators for remote manipulation of hazardous materials. This technology simulates various tasks, robots, and environments in hazardous settings, allowing operators to perform their work more efficiently and cost-effectively. The proposed use cases within the nuclear industry for such simulation platform varies from the post-operational clean-out process to operations in the contaminated environment after a disaster.