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

2026-01-27

AI Summary

This work addresses the current lack of dedicated virtual testing platforms for advanced nuclear facilities, which hinders effective evaluation of emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, digital twins, cyber-physical security, and robotics. To bridge this gap, the authors propose iFAN—an integrated digital twin ecosystem that uniquely combines a high-fidelity 3D environment, physics engine–driven radiation simulation, virtual reality, reinforcement learning, and cyber-physical security mechanisms. iFAN enables real-time data interaction and pre-deployment validation across nuclear plant operations, physical security, cybersecurity, and robotic tasks, thereby supporting closed-loop testing of multi-technology integration and autonomous capabilities. This platform establishes a scalable, secure, and efficient virtual verification infrastructure for next-generation nuclear energy systems characterized by high autonomy and resilience.

Technology Category

• Intelligent Robots: Multimodal Perception & Sensor Fusion
• Humans and AI: Game Design — Virtual Humans, NPCs and Autonomous Characters
• Application Domains: Internet of Things, Sensor Networks & Smart Cities

Application Category

• Systems and Infrastructure for Web, Mobile and WoT: Virtualization and resource management in Web systems and infrastructures
• Responsible Web: Machine-in-the-loop, human agency and autonomy
• Economics, Online Markets and Human Computation: Economic ramifications for generative AI infrastructure and applications

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.

Problem

• virtual testbed
• nuclear simulation
• cyber-physical security
• autonomous robotics
• digital transformation

Innovation

• digital twin
• cyber-physical security
• reinforcement learning
• virtual testbed
• autonomous robotics