# Spot at Dounreay, Caithness, United Kingdom: deployment

Canonical ID: `8ca65883-9512-4e1e-957e-4c9cc7fd3d15`

Dounreay staff and systems integrator [Createc](/companies/createc.md) deployed two [Boston Dynamics Spot](/models/boston-dynamics-spot.md) robots over five days, with multiple entries into a four-storey evaporator cell in the Fuel Cycle Area that had been shut for about 25 years. The robots built a 3D map and a dosimetry map, and a [Spot](/companies/boston-dynamics.md) with an arm took physical samples. A team of 12 supported the trials, and a series of seven use cases was planned for the following months. Reported by GOV.UK on 1 September 2023; the exact deployment dates are not given.

## Key facts

- **Country:** [United Kingdom](/locations/united-kingdom-3.md)
- **Sector:** Nuclear decommissioning
- **Operator:** Dounreay with [Createc](/companies/createc.md)
- **Scale:** 2 Spot robots, 5-day deployment, team of 12
- **Tasks:** 3D mapping, dosimetry mapping, physical sampling
- **Next steps:** Seven use cases planned over the following months

**Trust tier:** Catalog entry · 1 source · not yet field-verified

_Last updated: 2026-11-01_

- **Slug:** spot-dounreay-evaporator-cell-uk
- **Status:** pilot
- **Model:** [Spot](/models/boston-dynamics-spot.md) (id: `223bb4ff-a2d7-4afd-825d-f6b15c34afa9`)
- **Category:** [Quadrupeds](/quadrupeds)
- **Company:** [Boston Dynamics](/companies/boston-dynamics.md) (id: `e07a6384-c6a0-4a69-8abe-7fcea11bc302`)
- **Location:** [Dounreay, Caithness, United Kingdom](/locations/united-kingdom/dounreay-uk.md) (id: `c20061b6-3db4-41f1-a441-b6f44146d052`)
- **First seen:** 2023-09-01T00:00:00.000Z

## Verification log (0, append-only)

_No verifications recorded._

## Sources (1)

1. **Robot proves itself in Dounreay radioactive area** · https://www.gov.uk/government/news/robot-proves-itself-in-dounreay-radioactive-area · 2023-09-01

## Common questions

### What is the Spot deployment at Dounreay, Caithness, United Kingdom?

[Spot](/models/boston-dynamics-spot.md), built by [Boston Dynamics](/companies/boston-dynamics.md), is recorded as a deployment at [Dounreay, Caithness, United Kingdom](/locations/dounreay-uk.md) on the DEPLOY registry. [Boston Dynamics](/companies/boston-dynamics.md) operates the deployment directly.

### Who operates Spot at Dounreay, Caithness, United Kingdom?

[Boston Dynamics](/companies/boston-dynamics.md), the manufacturer of [Spot](/models/boston-dynamics-spot.md), operates this deployment directly. This is a maker-deploys-its-own-product arrangement rather than a customer pilot.

### When did the Spot deployment at Dounreay, Caithness, United Kingdom go live?

The deployment is recorded as starting September 1, 2023 on the DEPLOY registry. Earlier activity may exist but is not yet sourced.

### Have there been incidents at the Spot deployment at Dounreay, Caithness, United Kingdom?

No active incidents affecting this deployment are recorded on the DEPLOY registry. Absence of recorded incidents is not a guarantee no incident occurred; DEPLOY records only sourced incidents and suppresses retracted ones.


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