Robot dog fetches radiation data: Surry’s award winner makes new strides

Among the typical bustle of outage activities at the Surry Power Station in Virginia during the fall of 2022, an unfamiliar sound broke through the commotion. Even with hearing protection in place, a faint whir thunk, whir thunk, whir thunk could be heard, announcing the arrival of the latest innovation in nuclear power. Dominion Energy, owner and operator of Surry, had combined new technologies from robotics company Boston Dynamics and radiation detection company Gamma Reality Inc. to provide radiological condition monitoring throughout the plant that could protect technicians from radiation exposure. The result? A quadruped robot with real-time 3D radiation mapping and data fusion capabilities.