CERN sends AI-trained robot mice scurrying through LHC beam pipes
- Reference: 1772708410
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2026/03/05/robot_mice_lhc/
- Source link:
Named "PipeINEER," from "pipe" and "pioneer," the 3.7 cm wide (about 1.5 in) robot sadly looks nothing like a mouse, though it was designed to trundle autonomously through long, narrow pipes, which perhaps made the designers think of a rodent.
[1]
PipeINEER (image courtesy of United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority)
The pipes in this case run the 27 km (approximately 16.8 miles) circumference of the LHC, which straddles the border between France and Switzerland, near Geneva.
These are the pipes that carry the actual particle beams that are surrounded by superconducting magnets at -271°C (-455°F) while also operating under high vacuum conditions. Add in their position deep within the infrastructure, and this makes human access and inspection extremely challenging.
[2]Youtube Video
[3]
The inspections are needed as the LHC contains about 2,000 plug-in modules (PIMs) to handle the expansion and contraction caused by the extremes of temperature and pressure. However, small components within the modules – thin radio frequency "fingers" designed to maintain electrical contact – can become deformed and cause obstructions inside the beamline.
[4]Large Hadron Collider data hints at explanation for why everything exists
[5]CERN boffins turn lead into gold for about a microsecond at unimaginable cost
[6]Robot dogs learn bomb disposal tricks in trials
[7]CERN is training robot dogs to spot radiation hazards at Large Hadron Collider
PipeINEER can travel for up to six kilometers on battery power while capturing detailed images of each PIM, and uses an AI model trained to detect any abnormalities. If the robot detects an issue, it returns to its starting point and reports the exact location of the problem.
This approach allows engineers to address specific points along the 27 km collider, UKAEA says, without having to disassemble sections of pipe and use a manual endoscope to inspect for defects.
[8]
The robot was developed for CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research, by UKAEA's Remote Applications in Challenging Environments (RACE) robotics center.
We would love to tell you that the PipeINEER is based on a Raspberry Pi module or something similar, but the UKAEA had not responded to our requests for further information at the time of publication.
[9]
Instead, RACE director Nick Sykes said in a statement: "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."
But it isn't the only robot being tasked with going where humans cannot. The famous [10]Boston Dynamics robot dogs are set to help with the ongoing cleanup and decommissioning of the UK's Sellafield nuclear site. ®
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[1] https://regmedia.co.uk/2026/03/04/lhcrobot.jpg
[2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d3MK6prEkUM
[3] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/science&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2aam2ufSaJC9w3xhO8DGoBwAAAcE&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[4] https://www.theregister.com/2025/07/17/cern_lhc_matter_antimatter/
[5] https://www.theregister.com/2025/05/12/cern_lead_into_gold/
[6] https://www.theregister.com/2025/02/06/uk_robot_bomb_disposal/
[7] https://www.theregister.com/2024/02/08/cern_is_training_robot_dogs/
[8] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/science&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44aam2ufSaJC9w3xhO8DGoBwAAAcE&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
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[10] https://www.theregister.com/2026/01/30/sellafield_robot_dogs/
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Is it little progress...or is it simply little progress down one particular skill tree?
All things being equal you'd love to see significant developments in all branches of STEM, but resources (human, financial, scientific) are finite so effort tends to be put into areas that give the best result (or return, let's not be naiive!).
That said, you often find when attention shifts back to a lesser-attractive form - such as these rodent...they can take advantage of advancements in other areas (computing/battery power and size) to quickly advance
The real advance here (with reference to what we had in 1981) is the image recognition / ML that allows this battery-operated device to determine if something doesn't look right. The description suggests this happens on-board the robot; it's not just taking pictures of everything and letting the "big" computer (or people) back at the base look at it and work out if anything is wrong.
Mouse evolution
Oh, I think those mice have improved as well...
https://youtu.be/ZMQbHMgK2rw?si=K5asIWzAu_sRxl74
looks nothing like a mouse
Yeah, one scroll wheel is usually enough.
You are in a maze of twisting little passages
Do they have a robo-cat to drag out the robo-mice if something goes wrong?
Asking for friend who is not sure if it's safe to stand up straight.
Re: You are in a maze of twisting little passages
"What are we going to do tonight, Brain?"
"Same thing we do every night, Pinky - try to take over the world inspect 27km of small pipework."
"NARF!"
This is one of those times where I marvel at how certain aspects of technology have progressed so little, and at how much hype gets attached to things that by now should be pretty meh...
I remember going to a computer show at Olympia in 1981 very well as it was my very first encounter with a live ZX81 - it literally kickstarted a lifelong passion of computers - by the Sinclair stand there was a huge maze, a few meters square, where university teams were competing to see who's "mouse" could autonomously find its way out of the maze most quickly, a test of both the construction and use of sensors on the mouse, and coding on the attached computers that the mice were attached to by ribbon cables.
So sure, we have miniaturisation of the sensors and you can now get that level of computing into something smaller than a pinhead, but is this really something for one of the world's most advanced tech projects to be shouting about 45 years later?... Maybe I'm just an old cynic having a bad day!...