UKAEA and CERN Win an Award for "Robot Mice" Designed to Scurry Along the Large Hadron Collider
Plug-in module inspection along the beamline is a challenge for those trying to keep the LHC colliding — which is where PipeINEER comes in.
The UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) has partnered with the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) on the development of tiny "robotic mice" designed to inspect pipelines at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) where humans can't squeeze — and the project has just received The Engineer’s Collaborate to Innovate (C2I) Award.
"This award highlights the power of international collaboration, bringing together UKAEA and CERN alongside the wider global scientific community," says Nick Sykes, director of Robotics Applications in Challenge Environments (RACE) at the UKEA. "We're proud to apply our robotics expertise from fusion energy to support CERN's world leading experiments. By combining our remote handling experience with CERN's scientific excellence, we're helping ensure the Large Hadron Collider operates safely and efficiently for years to come."
The problem the team set out to solve lies at the heart of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), the world's most powerful particle accelerator: 2,000 plug-in modules installed along the length of the collider that have to withstand expansion and contraction as the beamline is cooled down to -271°C (-455.8°F). That extreme temperature cycling can cause connections to bend, impacting experiments — and human's cant easily inspect the parts for damage.
PipeINEER — a portmanteau of "pipe" and "pioneer," its creators explain — can. The tiny robot, inspired by mice, "scurries" along the 27km (around 16.8 mile) long beamline on wheels under autonomous control. The battery-powered robots capture images of each plug-in module and automatically compare them to known-good versions — and if an anomaly is flagged, return to base and report the exact location of the suspect module.
The project is currently in the developmental stage, its creators admit, with plans for field testing this year and, if all goes well, manufacturing for deployment in early 2027. More information on RACE is available on the UKAEA website.
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