It's too bad there apparently aren't any robots ready to put into service in Fukushima. They might have robotic arms or cranes for doing things like shuffling fuel rods, but what can help with doing improvised welding or wiring in a hostile environment?
In recent months NHK reported on experiments in using simple robots that could help the elderly in Japan with a few chores, but they were a flop mainly because the people involved rejected them instead insisting on human companionship. There's a shortage of working-age people, and a growing percentage of retirement age people there. Many of the younger people stay in the larger cities making the shift even more dramatic in some areas. In the 60's many predicted flat-panel on the wall television sets to be in use by the 80's. It looks like general purpose robots will take longer than many would have hoped too.
Perhaps something remotely controlled by a human with VR gloves etc is viable for the emergency repairs? Things would have to be well shielded to avoid having stray neutrons altering data bits.
In recent months NHK reported on experiments in using simple robots that could help the elderly in Japan with a few chores, but they were a flop mainly because the people involved rejected them instead insisting on human companionship. There's a shortage of working-age people, and a growing percentage of retirement age people there. Many of the younger people stay in the larger cities making the shift even more dramatic in some areas. In the 60's many predicted flat-panel on the wall television sets to be in use by the 80's. It looks like general purpose robots will take longer than many would have hoped too.
Perhaps something remotely controlled by a human with VR gloves etc is viable for the emergency repairs? Things would have to be well shielded to avoid having stray neutrons altering data bits.