The DORADO project, part of the Euratom research programme, is pioneering new digital solutions to make nuclear decommissioning safer, more efficient, and more cost-effective for society and the environment. Nuclear decommissioning—the process of dismantling retired nuclear facilities—demands rigorous safety, transparency, and sophisticated coordination of technologies and expertise. Through a unique combination of robotics, advanced sensors, artificial intelligence, Building Information Modelling (BIM), and digital twins, DORADO seeks to transform how we approach this critical challenge.
Project Overview:
DORADO gathers leading European institutions and industry players, with the Institute for Energy Technology (IFE) as technical coordinator and work package leader, ensuring synergetic integration of the project’s innovative components. The project’s core is a data-driven digital platform, powered by a robust ontology specifically developed for nuclear decommissioning. This ontology not only facilitates integration across all tools and robots, but also underpins the comprehensive knowledge management framework vital for decision support and regulatory compliance.
Technology integration:
At the heart of DORADO is an ambition: to create a dynamic, up-to-date digital twin of operating sites. This digital twin is constantly refreshed with input from autonomous inspection robots, diverse sensor networks, and real-time operator feedback. Robots equipped with advanced navigation and data acquisition capabilities, coordinated via the central server, can independently conduct detailed inspections, gather radiation measurements, and map structural and environmental conditions—even in hazardous zones. All sensor readings and visual information are seamlessly mapped and integrated using the ontology and BIM.
Recognizing the complexity and safety requirements of nuclear sites, DORADO also develops hands-free, voice-assisted reporting tools. These allow fieldworkers to log findings and observations directly into the digital twin using natural language, minimizing distraction and maximizing safety during site operations. Stakeholder and end-user engagement is central throughout the project, ensuring practical value and usability.
Achievements to Date:
Since its launch, DORADO has taken major steps towards its vision:
• A comprehensive literature and state-of-the-art review was conducted, mapping recent international developments in robotics, BIM, digital twins, ontology, sensor fusion, and AI for nuclear decommissioning.
• Intensive stakeholder engagement secured a clear, requirements-driven path for systems design, ensuring early alignment with end-user needs and regulatory expectations.
• The project has defined real-world use cases—such as in-situ waste characterization, dose estimation using digital twins, and remote robot mission planning—which anchor technology developments to high-impact applications.
• An initial version of the decom ontology is now in place, offering a common language for everything from waste materials and robot operations to facility layouts and safety data.
• The system architecture draws on lessons from advanced safety and security analyses, mapping out the necessary measures for safe operation of robots, secure data flows, and trusted decision-making in high-consequence environments.
• Benchmarking and demonstration strategies have been established, with plans to validate the platform using real datasets from operating nuclear sites.
Next steps:
The next phase of DORADO will see prototypes of robot-assisted inspection and real-time digital twin systems, richer integration of multi-modal sensor data, and field trials of voice-assisted reporting in operational settings. The use of ontology as a foundational technology ensures all tools—robotics, BIM, AI analytics, and human interfaces—communicate flawlessly and build cumulative value for both industry and regulators.
Societal Impact and Legacy
DORADO aims to minimize radiation exposure for workers and communities, reduce waste volumes and costs, and enable knowledge-based, adaptive operation of complex sites. Its open, ontology-powered approach is expected to enhance public confidence in the management of nuclear assets, while also offering regulators clear, up-to-date information in support of evolving standards.
With IFE’s leadership as technical coordinator, supported by an outstanding consortium—including research, technical, and industry leaders—DORADO is setting new standards for safe, sustainable nuclear decommissioning in Europe and beyond.
In the DORADO project, a holistic digital platform based on a data-driven approach will be created, integrating digital tools into a coherent suite customized for decommissioning applications. Once completed, the platform can be utilized especially for in situ waste characterization, planning segregation and packing remotely, robotics and remote handling systems, characterization and sampling, clearance of surfaces and structures, cost estimation, risk identification, and knowledge management, including on-site voice assistance to the fieldworkers.
The DORADO project will focus on several technologies that will be developed and integrated to be used with a common data server combining the data flow following the BIM methodology. These include, e.g., point-cloud data, 3D models and change detection, Digital Twins (DTs) based ALARA dose estimation, robot mission optimization, and smart voice assistant interface. After the technological implementation development phase, all the results will be demonstrated with data sets collected from real nuclear facilities. Utilizing a decommissioning-specific ontology will allow capturing and sharing the complex information involved in D&D projects, enabling better planning, decision-making, and knowledge reuse. Benchmarking digital tools with demonstrations from nuclear facilities also assists the regulators to understand the future technical possibilities and to update regulations to cover all the changes in the operating environment.
The project also aims to connect with the wider European Community through, e.g., SNETP, NEA, DigiDECOM, IGDTP, IAEA, ENSREG, ERDO, and will encourage interaction between different national programmes.
