Radiation-Hardened Robots at Fukushima# WaterWorld - 未名水世界
c*i
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I post it here, because two weeks ago there was a debate in this board about
whether robots could work at nuclear disaster Zones.
Newest news first.
(1) Andy Pasztor, A New Role for Honeywell's T-Hawk. Wall Street Journal,
Apr 20, 2011.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424
052748704740204576273320191804828.html
("T-Hawks didn't have any maintenance problems and weren't affected by high
radiation levels")
(2) Sharon Gaudin, U.S. to send radiation-hardened robots to Japan.
Computerworld, Apr 14, 2011.
http://www.computerworld.com/s/article
/9215346/U.S._to_send_radiation_hardened_robots_to_Japan
(Dr. Peter Lyons, an acting assistant secretary for nuclear energy with the
Department of Energy told a Senate's Energy and Natural Resources Committee
"that the government is shipping radiation-hardened robots to assist the
Japanese." He did not mention number or brand of robot(s))
My comment: The home page of US Department of Energy (DOE) website contains:
John Schueler, Robot Reworked to Analyze Radiation in Japan. DOE, Apr 14,
2011 (blog).
http://blog.energy.gov/blog/2011/04/14
/robot-reworked-analyze-radiation-japan
My comment: The blog did not specify what modifications DOE did on robots,
but paragraph 1 stated: "The Department of Energy has been working around
the clock to provide whatever assistance we can to the Government of Japan
as they work to bring the Fukushima nuclear reactors under control. One
unique capability that the Department has recently mobilized to help in this
situation is an expertise in robotics."
Presumably, the modification includes the iRobot packbot that entered
Fukushima reactors on Apr 18, 2011.
(3) Martyn Williams, Debris Prevents Robots From Entering Stricken Nuclear
Plant. PC World, Mar 30, 2011.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/pcworld/20110331
/tc_pcworld/debrispreventsrobotsfromenteringstrickennuclearplant_1
Quote:
"The company [TEPCO] has already been provided a nuclear safety robot by
Japan's * * * but the large amount of debris and cables littering the
Fukushima plant poses problems for their use. The Japanese robot, called '
Moni Robo A,' remains at the operations staging area because of the state of
the plant.
"Some have expressed surprise that robots were not put into use at the plant
earlier. Numerous robots have been developed in the country, but most are
focused on industrial use in factories or as home-help devices for the
elderly.
(4) David Hambling, Japan sends robots into Fukushima nuclear plant. NewScientist, Mar 18, 2011 (blog).
http://www.newscientist.com/blogs/onepercent/2011/03/japanese-s
(Monirobo (monitor robot) "was developed by Japan's Nuclear Safety Technology Centre in association with the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry after the Tokaimura nuclear accident in 1999 in which two workers died")
My comment:
(a) There is no need to read the rest of (4).
(b) Robotics is not new in nuclear disaster zone. See
Chernobyl disaster incident PART 5. Youtube, Uploaded by keiluko on Sep 23,
2008
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2VVx9gRS3ug#t=1m5s
Watch only the first several seconds (The "1m5s" in the URL sets the video
clip to start at 1 min 5 sec--rather than from the outset (0:00)--out of the
total length of 9 min 5 sec): "The radiation is very high. We can't do it
manually. We have to use robots."
(c) Matthew L Wald, US Engineers Cite Lengthy Cleanup; Three Mile Island
veterans say task in Japan is far worse. New York Times, Apr 20, 2011 (title
in print).
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/20
/world/asia/20nuclear.html?_r=1&ref=japan
whether robots could work at nuclear disaster Zones.
Newest news first.
(1) Andy Pasztor, A New Role for Honeywell's T-Hawk. Wall Street Journal,
Apr 20, 2011.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424
052748704740204576273320191804828.html
("T-Hawks didn't have any maintenance problems and weren't affected by high
radiation levels")
(2) Sharon Gaudin, U.S. to send radiation-hardened robots to Japan.
Computerworld, Apr 14, 2011.
http://www.computerworld.com/s/article
/9215346/U.S._to_send_radiation_hardened_robots_to_Japan
(Dr. Peter Lyons, an acting assistant secretary for nuclear energy with the
Department of Energy told a Senate's Energy and Natural Resources Committee
"that the government is shipping radiation-hardened robots to assist the
Japanese." He did not mention number or brand of robot(s))
My comment: The home page of US Department of Energy (DOE) website contains:
John Schueler, Robot Reworked to Analyze Radiation in Japan. DOE, Apr 14,
2011 (blog).
http://blog.energy.gov/blog/2011/04/14
/robot-reworked-analyze-radiation-japan
My comment: The blog did not specify what modifications DOE did on robots,
but paragraph 1 stated: "The Department of Energy has been working around
the clock to provide whatever assistance we can to the Government of Japan
as they work to bring the Fukushima nuclear reactors under control. One
unique capability that the Department has recently mobilized to help in this
situation is an expertise in robotics."
Presumably, the modification includes the iRobot packbot that entered
Fukushima reactors on Apr 18, 2011.
(3) Martyn Williams, Debris Prevents Robots From Entering Stricken Nuclear
Plant. PC World, Mar 30, 2011.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/pcworld/20110331
/tc_pcworld/debrispreventsrobotsfromenteringstrickennuclearplant_1
Quote:
"The company [TEPCO] has already been provided a nuclear safety robot by
Japan's * * * but the large amount of debris and cables littering the
Fukushima plant poses problems for their use. The Japanese robot, called '
Moni Robo A,' remains at the operations staging area because of the state of
the plant.
"Some have expressed surprise that robots were not put into use at the plant
earlier. Numerous robots have been developed in the country, but most are
focused on industrial use in factories or as home-help devices for the
elderly.
(4) David Hambling, Japan sends robots into Fukushima nuclear plant. NewScientist, Mar 18, 2011 (blog).
http://www.newscientist.com/blogs/onepercent/2011/03/japanese-s
(Monirobo (monitor robot) "was developed by Japan's Nuclear Safety Technology Centre in association with the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry after the Tokaimura nuclear accident in 1999 in which two workers died")
My comment:
(a) There is no need to read the rest of (4).
(b) Robotics is not new in nuclear disaster zone. See
Chernobyl disaster incident PART 5. Youtube, Uploaded by keiluko on Sep 23,
2008
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2VVx9gRS3ug#t=1m5s
Watch only the first several seconds (The "1m5s" in the URL sets the video
clip to start at 1 min 5 sec--rather than from the outset (0:00)--out of the
total length of 9 min 5 sec): "The radiation is very high. We can't do it
manually. We have to use robots."
(c) Matthew L Wald, US Engineers Cite Lengthy Cleanup; Three Mile Island
veterans say task in Japan is far worse. New York Times, Apr 20, 2011 (title
in print).
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/20
/world/asia/20nuclear.html?_r=1&ref=japan