A new robot for Fukushima Daiichi

November 21, 2012

4-legged robot developed to search inside reactor

http://www3.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/20121121_32.html

Japanese electronics manufacturer Toshiba has developed a 4-legged robot to inspect the inside of damaged reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

The radio-controlled robot stands about 1 meter tall. It has four 70-centimeter-long legs, 6 video cameras and a radiation detector.

The robot can step over obstacles up to 40 centimeters high and climb up and down stairs.

Riding atop the robot is a small vehicle with a camera attached. The robot uses its arm to unload the vehicle so it can inspect tiny spaces like the undersides of pipes.

Toshiba says the robot can work for 300 days in a high-radiation environment.

The company has proposed that the operator of the Fukushima plant, Tokyo Electric Power Company, use the machine in research related to scrapping the damaged reactors. That job is expected to take 30 to 40 years to complete.

Goro Yanase of Toshiba says he wants to develop robots that can carry heavy loads or carry out more complex tasks.