Guest Post: New Robot Designed For Investigation Of Fukushima Daiichi Reactor Basements

The New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization, (NEDO), and the Chiba Institute of Technology have designed a new robot which will be used to investigate the basement areas of the reactors at Fukushima Daiichi.  Unmanned robotic equipment is essential for ongoing work operations at the crippled plant, where radiation levels are often found too high for humans to work around.  TEPCO operators have also been employing the robots in less-contaminated areas, to conserve doses which otherwise would be absorbed by workers.

The robot is named “Sakura”, and was designed smaller than other models (39 cm wide and 50 cm tall), in order to maneuver in the basements to check for damaged piping.

The Chiba Institute of Technology has been developing and supplying robots for use at the Fukushima plant since June 2011.

Click here to continue reading and comment

Lucas is from the greater Mid-Michigan area, where he writes and conducts much of his research.

Most Valuable Observation
“Sustainability has never been a result of any profit-based motivation; rather it is an unforseen, inherent, or natural benefit which can be extracted from any natural system of society or nature only through the most ethical of channels. Profit on the other hand only perpetuates need.”

Favorite Quote
“Our senses, imagination, and our sentiments may be so multiplied, especially in the whirlpools of business, that we are not always in the condition to hear the truth. Yet nothing can be more important but to know it.”