Radiation-Hardened Robots at Fukushima

choi

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Newest news first.
(1) Andy Pasztor, A New Role for Honeywell's T-Hawk. Wall Street Journal, Apr 20, 2011.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704740204576273320191804828.html
("T-Hawks didn't have any maintenance problems and weren't affected by high radiation levels")

(2) Sharon Gaudin, U.S. to send radiation-hardened robots to Japan. Computerworld, Apr 14, 2011.
http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9215346/U.S._to_send_radiation_hardened_robots_to_Japan
(Dr. Peter Lyons, an acting assistant secretary for nuclear energy with the Department of Energy told a Senate's Energy and Natural Resources Committee "that the government is shipping radiation-hardened robots to assist the Japanese." He did not mention number or brand of robot(s))

My comment: The home page of US Department of Energy (DOE) website contains:
John Schueler, Robot Reworked to Analyze Radiation in Japan. DOE, Apr 14, 2011 (blog).
http://blog.energy.gov/blog/2011/04/14/robot-reworked-analyze-radiation-japan

My comment: The blog did not specify what modifications DOE did on robots, but paragraph 1 stated: "The Department of Energy has been working around the clock to provide whatever assistance we can to the Government of Japan as they work to bring the Fukushima nuclear reactors under control. One unique capability that the Department has recently mobilized to help in this situation is an expertise in robotics."

Presumably, the modification includes the iRobot packbot that entered Fukushima reactors on Apr 18, 2011.

(3) Martyn Williams, Debris Prevents Robots From Entering Stricken Nuclear Plant. PC World, Mar 30, 2011.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/pcworld/20110331/tc_pcworld/debrispreventsrobotsfromenteringstrickennuclearplant_1

Quote:

"The company [TEPCO] has already been provided a nuclear safety robot by Japan's  * * * but the large amount of debris and cables littering the Fukushima plant poses problems for their use. The Japanese robot, called 'Moni Robo A,' remains at the operations staging area because of the state of the plant.

"Some have expressed surprise that robots were not put into use at the plant earlier. Numerous robots have been developed in the country, but most are focused on industrial use in factories or as home-help devices for the elderly.

(4) David Hambling, Japan sends robots into Fukushima nuclear plant. NewScientist, Mar 18, 2011 (blog).
http://www.newscientist.com/blogs/onepercent/2011/03/japanese-send-robots-into-fuku.html
(Monirobo (monitor robot) "was developed by Japan's Nuclear Safety Technology Centre in association with the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry after the Tokaimura nuclear accident in 1999 in which two workers died")

My comment:
(a) There is no need to read the rest of (4).
(b) Robotics is not new in nuclear disaster zone. See
Chernobyl disaster incident PART 5. Youtube, Uploaded by keiluko on Sep 23, 2008
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2VVx9gRS3ug#t=1m5s

Watch only the first several seconds (The "1m5s" in the URL sets the video clip to start at 1 min 5 sec--rather than from the outset (0:00)--out of the total length of 9 min 5 sec): "The radiation is very high. We can't do it manually. We have to use robots."
(c) Matthew L Wald, US Engineers Cite Lengthy Cleanup; Three Mile Island veterans say task in Japan is far worse. New York Times, Apr 20, 2011 (title in print).
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/20/world/asia/20nuclear.html?_r=1&ref=japan


--------------------------Separately
(1) Spencer T Ante and Don Clark, Dollars Flow Back Into Tech; IBM and Intel See Surge in Earnings as Businesses Spend Big on Hardware. Wall Street Journal, Apr 20, 2011.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703789104576273334060180482.html

Quote:

(a) "IBM logged the highest revenue growth the company has seen in 10 years, adjusting for currency fluctuations. Its quarterly revenue rose 7.7%, as demand for a new mainframe computer lifted hardware sales 19%.

(b) "Intel had a strong quarter, including a 34% jump in profit and revenue growth of 25%. The company benefited from sales of chips used in server systems and other hardware for computer rooms, and revenue rose 32% in that business.

"But Intel sales also rose 17% for chips used in personal computers, contradicting estimates by two market research firms last week and a perception that sales of Apple Inc.'s iPad are sapping demand for notebook machines.

"'Notebooks are very good,' said Paul Otellini, Intel's chief executive, in an interview. While there was some weakness in retail sales in the U.S. and Europe, he said, that shortfall was 'more than offset' by better-than-expected results from business and consumer customers in other emerging markets, which include China and Brazil.

My comment: There is no need to read the rest.

(2) Digits  | Insights From WSJ.com. Wall Street Journal, Apr 20, 2011.
http://topics.wsj.com/article/SB20001424052748703789104576273153733282840.html

Two interesting reports:
(a) Satish Sarangaranjan and Melissa Korn, No Store Frenzy Greets RIM'S Tablet Launch.

(b) Roger Cheng, Motorola's Droid Bionic Delayed Until Summer
("Verizon Wireless so far has only one 4G smartphone, the HTC Corp. Thunderbolt, available to customers")

(3) David Wessel, Big U.S. Firms Shift Hiring Abroad; Work Forces Shrink at Home, Sharpening Debate on Economic Impact of Globalization. Wall Street Journal, Apr 20, 2011.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704821704576270783611823972.html
("A decade ago, [economist Matthew] Slaughter, who consults for several big companies and trade associations, drew attention with his observation that "for every one job that U.S. multinationals created abroad...they created nearly two U.S. jobs in their [U.S.-based] parents." That was true in the 1990s, he says. It is no longer")

My comment: Only read the first several paragraphs and look at the graphics.

※ 修改:．choi 于 Apr 20 12:25:43 修改本文．[FROM: 129.10.0.0]

※ 修改:．choi 于 Apr 20 12:52:17 修改本文．[FROM: 129.10.0.0]