Tiny Robot 'Mice' Crawl Inside Hadron Collider for High-Tech Inspections

A group of scientists from the UK and CERN have created a small robot that is about the size of a mouse. This robot was designed to help inspect the Large Hadron Collider, or LHC, which is a huge science machine located deep underground on the border between France and Switzerland. The LHC is a circular tunnel that is 27 kilometers long, and it is used to smash tiny particles together at very high speeds. These experiments help scientists discover new things about physics, like when they found the Higgs boson in 2012.

The LHC is a very difficult place for humans to inspect because the tunnel is narrow, cold, and full of strong magnets. The magnets are kept at a temperature of minus 271 degrees Celsius, which is colder than outer space. The pipes where the particles travel are also very small and are kept as vacuums, so people cannot go inside to check them. That is why the UK Atomic Energy Authority and CERN worked together to make a robot that could do the job.

The robot they made is called 'PipeINEER. ' It is only 3. 7 centimeters wide and 20 centimeters long, so it can fit inside the narrow pipes of the LHC. PipeINEER can move by itself and take detailed pictures of the inside of the pipes. It uses artificial intelligence to look for any problems or damage. This makes it much easier and safer to keep the LHC working well. The robot recently won an award for being a great example of teamwork and innovation. Scientists say that PipeINEER will help them keep the LHC running smoothly for many years and will make it easier to do important experiments in the future.