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Where Were the Robots In Fukushima Crisis?

Posted by timothy on from the robot-union-was-in-heavy-negotiations dept.

mdsolar writes "When the huge Fukushima nuclear disaster first started, many on Slashdot were calling for robots to come to the rescue. This is the story of why our overlords were caught napping. Not to worry though, ¥1 billion has been allocated to correct the robot problem. They will be properly welcomed."

1 of 130 comments (clear)

  1. Re:No incentive by Samantha+Wright · · Score: 4, Informative

    Actually, it says in the article that sufficient shielding more than doubled the weight of one Japanese robot used at Fukushima. Also, the normal wireless remote control was useless inside of the reactor buildings and had to be replaced with a cable that eventually snapped. Robots that have to properly accommodate these two requirements do require some specialized engineering, it would appear.

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