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Robotic Exoskeletons Could Help Nuclear Plant Workers

Posted by samzenpus on from the power-up dept.

itwbennett (1594911) writes "ActiveLink, which is 80% owned by Panasonic, is building heavy-duty strength-boosting suits that the company says can help workers shoulder the burden of heavy gear and protective clothing and could be useful at nuclear plants. 'Our powered suits could be used to assist and support remote-controlled robots in emergencies,' ActiveLink President Hiromichi Fujimoto said in an interview. 'Workers could wear the suits to carry PackBots to their deployment point and to work in low-radiation areas.'"

6 of 29 comments (clear)

  1. Re:If your gear is heavy enough to necessitate rob by i+kan+reed · · Score: 3, Insightful

    If your work is delicate or uncertain enough to require human intervention, just use humans. Oh wait, we can't, because we'll die.

  2. Re:*DOH* by geekoid · · Score: 4, Funny

    You have an exoskeleton robot suit. make OTHERS feed you the donuts.

    --
    The Kruger Dunning explains most post on /. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect
  3. Not really needed by Mr+D+from+63 · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Nuclear plant workers get very little exposure to start with. There are robotics used for underwater tasks. So there really is not a nuclear power market for such things. There could be some cleanup tasks from old government defense waste sites, but tool as described are very niche use items.

  4. Re:If your gear is heavy enough to necessitate rob by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    The answer is a forgotten technology that produces an infinite supply of disposable human clones. The ancients perfected the practice eons ago. They called it slavery.

  5. Re:There are better uses than nuclear plants by tlambert · · Score: 2

    Nuclear plants are on the way out in Japan and around the world anyway. Perhaps they could help disassemble nuclear plants?

    Or disassemble the anti-nuclear activists?

  6. Re:There are better uses than nuclear plants by Ol+Olsoc · · Score: 2

    Nuclear plants are on the way out in Japan and around the world anyway. Perhaps they could help disassemble nuclear plants?

    Or disassemble the anti-nuclear activists?

    I'm pro nuclear power. We're either going to adopt it or return to the dark ages.

    You're an idiot.

    That attitude of yours. How's that working out for ya?

    --
    The shepherds did so well protecting the flock that the sheep no longer believed that wolves existed.