The Emerging Technologies Workshop is a periodic event held every 2-3 years as part of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Department of Safeguards’ (SG) strategic foresight and planning activities. It is designed to enhance SG’s preparedness for challenges and opportunities arising from scientific and technological advancements, and thereby assist the IAEA’s legal obligation to take full account of technological developments in the field of safeguards. Such technology foresight and exploration are ever more important in light of the growing gap between workload and available resources, as well as the increasing pace and complexity of change. The event, which was held 27-29 January 2020 at IAEA Headquarters in Vienna, utilized a problem-driven, solution-oriented approach in a series of technical sessions. These sessions were rooted in specific problem statements reflecting key safeguards challenges for which emerging technologies—including new methodologies and novel applications of existing technologies—could offer opportunities or pose challenges for mission efficiency and effectiveness. Following general presentations on relevant technology trends and case studies from industries with analogous challenges, invited experts, observers, and SG staff participated in facilitated discussions to generate new ideas and concrete first steps for implementation. The challenges addressed included: leveraging artificial intelligence for safeguards surveillance; improving use of open source data streams for multimedia and satellite imagery analysis; rethinking verification approaches for dry cask fuel storage; reimagining data visualization for stronger safeguards communications and analysis; and ensuring that additive manufacturing advances are appropriately considered when conducting acquisition path analysis. This report will discuss the various ideas that the event yielded, as well as key insights and their possible implications for the implementation of IAEA safeguards.
Year
2020
Abstract