New robots for gathering data inside the radiation-contaminated Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant are ready to go into action, the Chiba Institute of Technology said Monday, three months after an older version got stuck inside the No. 2 reactor building.
Equipped with cameras, thermometers and hygrometers, the pair of caterpillar-shaped robots, called Quince No. 2 and No. 3, are expected to be sent in by the end of February. The cost of developing the robots is estimated at ¥15 million to ¥20 million, said Eiji Koyanagi, the chief developer and vice director of the institute's Future Robotics Technology Center.
At the request of Tokyo Electric Power Co., No. 2 was also outfitted with a dust sampler to collect radioactive dust or ultrafine particles to ensure that workers at the plant are not overexposed. No. 3 has a 3-D scanner.