Tech Licensing Opportunity: ViBRANT: Visual Benign Reactor As Analog for Nuclear Testing

ViBRANT: Visual Benign Reactor As Analog for Nuclear Testing

ViBRANT offers a revolutionary approach to simulating and understanding nuclear reactor behaviors using a geometrically accurate, LED-based analog model.

The Challenge:

In the intricate world of nuclear reactor design and testing, the gap between theoretical models and tangible applications presents significant hurdles. Traditionally, this process involves a lengthy and rigid sequence of design, build, test, refine, and repeat, fraught with potential hazards and inefficiencies. Enter ViBRANT (Visual Benign Reactor As Analog for Nuclear Testing), a solution designed to streamline and safeguard this process. Through its innovative use of geometrically accurate, LED-based models, ViBRANT offers a safer, quicker, and more intuitive way to understand and iterate nuclear reactor behaviors and systems.

How it Works:

ViBRANT is a physical apparatus designed to mimic the core configuration of nuclear reactors, such as the SNAP-10A and MARVEL reactors, using 20,000 individually addressable LED lights. This model facilitates a direct, intuitive connection between digital simulation and physical phenomena, enabling rapid iterations of design, testing, and refinement in a safe, accessible format. It represents a significant step forward in nuclear reactor development, training, and educational tools by bridging the gap between digital approximations and physical reality.

Key Advantages:

• Provides a geometrically accurate representation of nuclear reactor cores.


• Enables rapid, agile iterations between concept ideation and analog validation.


• Reduces the hazards and protocols associated with full-scale nuclear reactor deployment.


• Improves understanding and integration of digital and physical development processes.


• Enhances human interaction with complex nuclear systems through visual and sensory engagement.

Problems Solved

• Long, sequential development cycles in nuclear reactor design and testing.


• Uncertainties and approximations inherent in purely digital simulation methods.


• Accessibility and safety concerns associated with direct interaction with nuclear reactors.


• Lack of intuitive, hands-on learning tools for nuclear physics and engineering education.

Market Applications

• Training and education tools for nuclear reactor operation and safety protocols.


• Development and testing platforms for microreactor automated control systems.


• Simulation and modeling tools for advanced nuclear reactor design and research.


• Public engagement and educational exhibits on nuclear technology and safety.

Development Status: TRL 8

US Patent Application No. 18/538,864, “BENIGN REACTIVITY ANALOGS FOR NUCLEAR MODELING,” BEA Docket No. BA-1398

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INL’s Technology Deployment department focuses exclusively on licensing intellectual property and partnering with industry collaborators capable of commercializing our innovations. Our goal is to commercialize the technologies developed by INL researchers. We do not engage in purchasing, manufacturing, procurement decisions, or providing funding. Additionally, this is not a call for external services to assist in the development of this technology.