Robots practice for nuclear emergencies

The Chernobyl nuclear catastrophe in April 1986 and the meltdown in Fukushima 25 years later, in March 2011, have made one thing clear: there is no such thing as absolute safety when it comes to nuclear power. Despite decades of experience, sophisticated emergency plans and constantly evolving technologies, an accident can occur at any nuclear power plant at any time. With potentially devastating consequences for people and the environment.

Incalculable human factor

In addition to partially outdated facilities, natural disasters and the incalculable human factor, the situation has been exacerbated by the increasing threat of terrorist attacks. The list of incidents in nuclear facilities in Europe is already long – nearly 40 since the year 2000 (status: 2025).

But it is not only the worst-case scenario that calls for robots to provide support; the orderly decommissioning of old nuclear facilities and the dismantling of interim storage facilities also require their assistance. "The application scenarios for robotic systems in the CBRNE field are very real, yet surprisingly little concrete research has been done in this area so far," explains Dr Frank E. Schneider, deputy head of the Cognitive Mobile Systems department at Fraunhofer FKIE.

In order to test the current state of research and technology in real-world application scenarios, he initiated the European Robotics Hackathon (EnRicH) in 2017 in collaboration with the Austrian Army's Office for Armament and Defence Technology (ARWT).

Real disaster scenarios

Since then, the competition has been held every two years at the Zwentendorf nuclear power plant near Vienna. The nuclear power plant has the same type of reactor as the disaster reactor in Fukushima. However, its commissioning was stopped in 1978, shortly after its completion, by a referendum.

The nuclear power plant, which never went into operation, thus offers the ideal venue for the tasks, which are based, among other things, on real-life scenarios from past nuclear accidents. EnRicH is also the only competition in Europe where real radiation is used for training purposes. "This shows what European robotics can achieve in a worst-case scenario," says EnRicH initiator Schneider.

In keeping with the spirit and understanding of a hackathon, the event sees itself less as a competition and more as a joint exercise that offers the international robotics elite and nuclear experts the opportunity to network, exchange ideas on the latest developments and advances, and compare different approaches to solving challenging, realistic tasks.

Organised like a competition

Nevertheless, the event is organised like a competition. Participating teams can register for different disciplines and compete in them. Tasks to be solved include "exploration", the investigation and most accurate mapping possible of the infrastructure, including the measurement and mapping of leaked radiation, "manipulation" and "search & rescue".

Challenging scenarios are on the agenda for all categories. For example, the 5th edition of the Hackathon 2025 featured, among other things, a combined scenario across multiple levels for flying and driving systems. Schneider already has some initial ideas for the European Robotics Hackathon 2027: “We will continue to develop and build on the proven components from this year but also have some completely new ideas,” he promises.

"In our view, EnRicH is a very successful event, with significantly better performances now being demonstrated than at the first edition in 2017," says Dr Frank E. Schneider. "However, there is still a long way to go before solutions can be found that offer truly reliable and versatile support in an emergency, and this will require further extensive research work."

For example, simply moving on uneven surfaces or difficult communication conditions, which are to be expected in a real disaster situation, still pose considerable problems for most robots.

The results of the participating teams' experiences will be revealed at the upcoming 6th EnRicH edition in 2027. Once again, the Austrian Army's Armament and Defence Technology Agency (ARWT) has pledged its support. Schneider: "We will also set new standards in terms of requirements."