Can you relate to the fact that robots are increasingly replacing humans in various kinds of work. However, hardly anyone will argue with the fact that in places of emergency situations and technogenic catastrophes the use of robotic mechanisms is more than justified. And here is one of joint development of the Japanese company Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and the International research Institute for decommissioning of nuclear power plants aims to create a robot of a new type, which will be able to carry out dangerous work to remove melted after the accident in 2011 of the fuel rods from the nuclear power plant “Fukushima-1”.
The initiator of this approach is the company owner of the infamous nuclear power plant Tokyo Electric Power (TEPCO). She plans to begin removing hazardous materials already in 2021. The robot will be controlled remotely and will provide a device with a length of 7 meters and weighing 3.5 tons. The design will resemble an elephant’s trunk with six moving elements, at the end of which is installed a kind of a sucker for collecting the molten fuel. In this case the robot will move very slowly (speed not to exceed 5 cm per second) in order to provide maximum accuracy in the collection of hazardous materials. For the delivery robot will be laid special rails to sealed storage. Used in the construction of the robot the electronics resistant to high doses of radiation that will allow you to use it for a long time.
Despite the fact that the work is scheduled for 2021, they can be delayed due to the fact that you first need to establish the exact location of the threat of molten nuclear fuel. It is now used a robot with cameras and sensors for the measurement of radiation. Once the location of all nuclear waste be identified, experts will begin to plan the launch and to build the movement route of the robot.
In Japan are developing a robot for removing molten fuel from reactors “Fukushima-1”
Vladimir Kuznetsov