iFAN Ecosystem: A Unified AI, Digital Twin, Cyber-Physical Security, and Robotics Environment for Advanced Nuclear Simulation and Operations

TL;DR

The paper addresses the need for high-fidelity, secure virtual testbeds to validate autonomous robotics and cyber-physical defenses in nuclear power plants. It presents the iFAN ecosystem, a unified digital twin that tightly couples a full-scope GPWR reactor simulator with a realistic UE5 3D environment, VR/teleoperation capabilities, reinforcement learning, AI/ML pipelines, cybersecurity testbeds, radiation simulation, and hardware-in-the-loop. Key contributions include a bidirectional GPWR–DT data bridge, a multi-modal VR/teleoperation framework, an RL-compatible interface, a data→model→validation pipeline, a synchronized cyber-physical testbed, and demonstrated use cases in workforce training, robot inspection/navigation, physical/cybersecurity, and HIL. The work enables pre-deployment verification of robotic platforms and cyber-resilience in nuclear facilities, offering a scalable, safe platform to explore autonomous operations and defense strategies before physical implementation, ultimately reducing risk and accelerating modernization.

Abstract

As nuclear facilities experience digital transformation and advanced reactor development, AI integration, cyber-physical security, and other emerging technologies such as autonomous robot operations are increasingly developed. However, evaluation and deployment is challenged by the lack of dedicated virtual testbeds. The Immersive Framework for Advanced Nuclear (iFAN) ecosystem is developed, a comprehensive digital twin framework with a realistic 3D environment with physics-based simulations. The iFAN ecosystem serves as a high-fidelity virtual testbed for plant operation, cybersecurity, physical security, and robotic operation, as it provides real-time data exchange for pre-deployment verification. Core features include virtual reality, reinforcement learning, radiation simulation, and cyber-physical security. In addition, the paper investigates various applications through potential operational scenarios. The iFAN ecosystem provides a versatile and secure architecture for validating the next generation of autonomous and cyber-resilient nuclear operations.

Figures (17)

• Figure 1: Architectural overview of the iFAN ecosystem. The diagram illustrates the integration of core features (left) such as AI, VR, and cybersecurity into a 3D Digital Twin environment (center). This framework integrates functionality pertaining to both robotics and cyber-physical security into a unified system, enabling capabilities such as robot inspection, teleoperation, and physical security testing (right).
• Figure 2: Primary System Model
• Figure 3: Condensate System Model
• Figure 4: Main Feedwater System Model
• Figure 5: Main and Reheat Steam System Model