aNDy (aka Andy) received his name from play of words with phonetic pronunciation of English letters N.D. which stand for ‘Nuclear Decommissioning’. aNDy is the avatar of the ‘red frog’ (Rana latastei), a protected species living in the JRC-Ispra pond. Thus, the JRC-Ispra has considered the red frog an emblematic figure for communicating the decommissioning programme. He is the memory of the JRC-Ispra site, the historian and ‘Cicerone’ of nuclear science and of nuclear decommissioning activities.
The rana latastei is an endemic species; the proportion of its habitat within the JRC-lspra is about 2/3 of the suitable environments available. This species features significantly in the Environmental Impact Assessment report developed for the nuclear decommissioning project and has been the subject of several ethological studies since 1980.
Thus Andy, the virtual frog counterpart, has the vocation to become the interpreter of nuclear decommissioning who is responsible for being the narrator in all aspects of communication and training in decommissioning, carried out by the JRC for students, professionals in the field, media, and all interested citizens and stakeholders.
aNDy also goes with time and uses the latest digital technologies and animations, Virtual and Augmented Reality, virtual assistant enhanced by AI (machine learning) etc. These are used to optimize performance and increase attractiveness of communication and training.
In the following video (soon available) aNDy will narrate in a virtual reality environment the history of nuclear decommissioning at the JRC-Ispra installations and its operational activities of decommissioning:
- Site construction with its nuclear facilities
- Decommissioning of the nuclear facilities and waste management
