AtkinsRéalis, the engineering and project management firm, has formed a partnership with the University of Oxford’s Oxford Robotics Institute to accelerate the deployment of autonomous robots in nuclear and wider energy sector environments. The collaboration formalizes and scales a body of work already active in the UK, where ORI-developed systems have been integrated into AtkinsRéalis platforms for autonomous navigation, mapping, and radiation hotspot detection at nuclear sites including Sellafield.

The partnership’s initial focus is on converting those proven UK deployments into commercial products available to international customers. Systems currently operating as mobile inspection vehicles and manipulation platforms will be refined in ORI’s laboratory infrastructure before transitioning into field-ready applications through AtkinsRéalis’ nuclear engineering capabilities.

Why Nuclear Is a Demanding Test Environment

Nuclear decommissioning and inspection represent one of the most constrained deployment contexts in industrial robotics. Human access is limited by radiation exposure limits, physical endurance, and safety protocols that restrict time on-site. Autonomous robots that can navigate, map, and detect radiation anomalies without continuous human presence directly address those constraints, extending operational capability into areas and durations that human crews cannot sustain.

Reducing personnel exposure to hazardous conditions is the core operational driver. Beyond safety, autonomous systems can potentially accelerate decommissioning work that would otherwise be paced by human radiation limits – a meaningful economic consideration given the multi-decade timescales and substantial costs associated with nuclear site closure programs.

The partners described the work as part of the emerging field of physical AI – the coupling of simulation, AI-enabled perception, decision-making, and real-world validation to enable reliable autonomous operation in safety-critical environments.

AtkinsRéalis’ Broader Robotics Ecosystem

The ORI partnership extends an ecosystem AtkinsRéalis has been assembling across robotics and AI over the past year. The company has a proposed trial of remote robot operation with Sellafield Ltd, an extended partnership with Canadian robotics manufacturer Kinova, and an active collaboration with NVIDIA on simulation and autonomy tools. Together, these alliances position AtkinsRéalis as an integrator across the physical AI stack for nuclear applications – from simulation and perception to manipulation hardware and regulatory compliance.

The deal gives AtkinsRéalis deeper access to ORI’s academic research and specialist testing infrastructure in perception, navigation, manipulation, and digital twin development. First public demonstrations of related technology in the UK are expected in the coming months as trials with nuclear site operators progress.

“This partnership allows us to rapidly move autonomous robotics from research to operational deployment on nuclear power plants around the world,” said Sam Stephens, head of digital for AtkinsRéalis’ nuclear division.

The longer-term objective is a validated suite of autonomous inspection and manipulation platforms deployable across decommissioning, operations, and monitoring tasks at nuclear sites internationally – a market where regulatory requirements, site-specific complexity, and safety standards create high barriers to entry but also durable demand for proven systems.

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SusHi Tech Tokyo, Asia’s largest startup convention, opened Monday at Tokyo Big Sight in Koto Ward for its fourth annual edition, running April 27 to 29. The event features 770 exhibitions across four thematic areas – AI, robotics, resilience, and entertainment – and is expected to draw approximately 60,000 attendees over the three days, with the first two days reserved for business participants and Wednesday open to the general public.

Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike opened the event Monday morning, framing the conference’s focus on sustainable urban technology against a backdrop of geopolitical volatility, climate disruption, and accelerating AI development. Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi joined Koike on stage in the afternoon to address the role of startups in driving national economic transformation.

Business Matching at Scale

The convention’s primary function is connecting startups with large corporations, institutional investors, and venture capital. Last year, approximately 6,000 business negotiations were facilitated through the event, with 45% of survey respondents reporting that conversations led to collaboration or funding outcomes. This year’s organizers are targeting 10,000 negotiations, supported by the introduction of an AI-powered business matching app that allows participants to connect directly through the platform and receive AI-generated recommendations for relevant contacts and companies.

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government has placed particular emphasis on drawing large Japanese corporations looking to actively engage with and invest in startups, alongside international investors seeking access to Japan’s technology ecosystem.

Robotics and AI on the Exhibition Floor

Robotics features prominently across the exhibition floor and panel program. Demonstrations include an anthropomorphic heavy machine designed for high-altitude work, reflecting Japan’s interest in deploying robotic systems in construction and infrastructure maintenance – sectors directly affected by the country’s labor shortage. Drone soccer demonstrations represent the entertainment and sports technology dimension of the robotics track.

The convention’s four-theme structure – AI, robotics, resilience, and entertainment – reflects Tokyo’s strategic priorities as it positions itself as a technology hub capable of competing with other global startup ecosystems. With 21 international city pavilions represented at the event, the organizers are also reinforcing the global dimension of the conference, providing Japanese startups with direct exposure to international capital and potential partners.

Of the 158 panel sessions scheduled over three days, a significant portion addresses AI and robotics applications in urban environments – a topic of particular urgency in Japan given the combination of record inbound tourism, a shrinking domestic workforce, and government pressure to accelerate automation across both public and private sector operations.

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Japan Airlines will introduce humanoid robots on a trial basis at Tokyo’s Haneda Airport from the beginning of May, deploying them to move traveler luggage and cargo on the tarmac. The trial, conducted in partnership with Japan Airlines GMO Internet Group, runs through 2028. The robots are manufactured by Hangzhou-based Unitree and stand 130 centimeters tall.

Haneda handles more than 60 million passengers annually. The trial is designed to address acute labor shortages in ground operations – a segment that remains heavily dependent on physical human labor despite the broader automation of airport passenger-facing services.

The Labor Pressure Behind the Decision

Japan is navigating simultaneous pressure from record inbound tourism and a declining domestic workforce. More than 7 million people visited the country in the first two months of 2026, following a record 42.7 million arrivals last year. One estimate projects Japan will need more than 6.5 million foreign workers by 2040 to sustain its growth targets as the indigenous workforce continues to contract.

Ground handling operations at major airports are among the roles most acutely affected. Physically demanding, shift-intensive, and difficult to staff at scale, baggage and cargo handling represents a natural early deployment target for humanoid robots that can perform repetitive physical tasks in structured outdoor environments.

“While airports appear highly automated and standardised, their back-end operations still rely heavily on human labour and face serious labor shortages,” said Tomohiro Uchida, president of GMO AI and Robotics.

Operational Parameters and Scope

In a media demonstration this week, the Unitree robot was shown pushing cargo onto a conveyor belt beside a JAL passenger aircraft. The current units operate continuously for two to three hours before requiring recharging – an operational constraint that will shape how the trial structures shift coverage alongside human workers.

JAL Ground Service president Yoshiteru Suzuki said the deployment is intended to reduce the physical burden on employees rather than replace the workforce, and confirmed that safety management tasks will remain human-operated. The companies also plan to expand the robots’ task scope to include aircraft cabin cleaning during the trial period.

Broader Context

The Haneda trial is one of the more operationally demanding humanoid robot deployments announced to date. Airport tarmac environments involve variable weather, moving vehicles, aircraft proximity, and strict safety protocols – conditions that introduce complexity beyond controlled warehouse or factory floor deployments. How the Unitree robots perform under those conditions over the two-year trial period will provide meaningful data on the readiness of current humanoid platforms for high-stakes outdoor logistics environments.

Japan’s combination of severe labor constraints, strong robotics infrastructure, and institutional willingness to pilot automation in public-facing services makes it a significant test market for humanoid deployment at the operational level – distinct from the manufacturing and logistics deployments that have defined most of the sector’s progress to date.

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South Korea’s National Fire Agency has announced a comprehensive overhaul of its disaster response system, with unmanned firefighting robots at the center of its near-term equipment expansion. The agency plans to add 18 robots over the next two years, bringing the total fleet from four to 22 units, before gradually extending deployment to fire headquarters across cities and provinces nationwide.

NFA Commissioner Kim Seung-ryong outlined the plan at a press briefing in Sejong on Thursday, his first public statement since taking office in October. The measures respond to an increase in large-scale, hard-to-access disasters – including fires at logistics facilities involving toxic gases and explosion risks – where personnel safety constraints limit how close human firefighters can operate.

Shifting to a Robot-Centered Response Model

The agency’s stated objective is to transition from a personnel-dependent response model to one centered on AI and robotics, reducing exposure of on-site staff in the most hazardous scenarios. Unmanned firefighting robots are designed to enter environments that would require human crews to operate at unsafe proximity to flames, structural collapse risk, or chemical hazard zones.

Alongside the robot expansion, the NFA will extend its high-capacity foam discharge system – used for large-scale incidents such as oil tank fires – to the Honam and metropolitan regions, adding geographic coverage for a class of industrial fire that has grown more common as logistics and warehousing infrastructure has expanded.

The preventive inspection system is also being strengthened. The agency is evaluating a shift from fire-station-only inspections to a government-wide joint system involving agencies responsible for construction, electricity, and gas. High-risk facilities with repeated fire incidents will be designated as key fire safety management targets and subjected to intensified public oversight through joint drills and safety investigations.

Emergency Transport Reform

The overhaul extends beyond firefighting into emergency patient transport. The NFA plans to strengthen the Central Emergency Medical Situation Control Center’s authority to intervene directly when regional centers cannot place patients, arranging hospital admissions nationwide rather than within regional boundaries. For high-risk cases including emergency obstetric patients, 119 emergency services will transport directly to facilities with neonatal intensive care capacity regardless of provincial jurisdiction.

For long-distance transport, the agency intends to expand use of its 33 air ambulances currently operating nationally.

Regulatory Reform

The agency is also initiating a regulatory overhaul of the firefighting industry. It will shift to a negative regulatory framework – permitting everything not explicitly prohibited by law – and has announced a Fire Prevention Regulation Rationalization Task Force combining industry, academic, and research expertise. Major firefighting laws including the Fire Facilities Act and the Hazardous Substances Safety Management Act will be reviewed from the ground up to remove unnecessary administrative constraints.

The announcement follows a line-of-duty deaths investigation stemming from a fire at a seafood processing facility in South Jeolla Province. A 26-member joint fire investigation team is conducting a detailed analysis, with institutional reforms to follow based on its findings.

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