Digital Instrumentation and Controls Research

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research (RES) performs research related to tools, methods, procedures, acceptance criteria, and guidance to assess the safety and security of digital instrumentation and controls (DI&C) systems in the U.S. nuclear industry. RES provides technical information to support licensing decisions and prepares for the future by evaluating the safety implications of new technologies and designs. In addition, RES coordinates research and development activities with other NRC offices and external stakeholders (e.g., universities, national laboratories, international agencies) to address DI&C issues, support the use of consensus standards, and support sharing of issues and solutions between various regulatory environments. To learn from experiences outside of the commercial nuclear power industry, such as defense, space flight, commercial aviation, medical devices, automobiles, telecommunications, and railways, RES has engaged with experts outside the NRC and continues to elicit knowledge from experts with safety-critical software and systems research experience in non-nuclear application domains. RES’ collaboration extends internationally, including sharing operational experience data and developing analysis techniques.

Below are summaries of ongoing and past research grouped by topics. The tables include publicly available research, regulatory documents based on the research, and other works produced/supported by RES staff.