Japanese firm unveils robot suit for nuclear workers

Finally, our first RoboTech gear. Get ready Minmay, Rick Hunter is coming to save you.

I suppose several months late is better than never. The HAL system was already working a few years ago but nobody put two and two together because Japan, unlike the U.S. doesn't have a military that would have pushed the project for it''s own purposes and that would have naturally included such anti-radiation suits,

Lightweight Tyvek protective outfits can provide a barrier between radioactive materials and the body, but are not effective in blocking radiation itself.

I'm sorry, probably a lack of AM coffee here, but I am having a hard time understanding this sentence.

Ok it provides a barrier but doesnt block the radiation, if that's the case why wear them? If it provides a barrier why doesnt it block?

Yubaru - The Tyvek suits block 'radioactive particles', you know, pieces of contaminated dust etc, but the tungsten vests block the radiation emanating from those particles. Get it?

Hmm, This suit might be good if you are not near heavy radiation doses like that was found on thurs. on the first floor of reactor 3 it was over 500-millisievert short-term dose recommended . But if this robot suit gives the TEPCO workers added protection they should be allowed to have them.

Wasn't Cyberdyne the name of the company that invented the Terminator?

Congratulations Japan. The fantastic futuristic worlds often depicted in your anime are becoming a reality.

Hasn't NASA already made these as well as the Chinese and Russians?

The inside of the reactor buildings remain off limits because there are rad readings well off the scale, especially building No3 which has spent fuel rods mixed in with debris following the explosions. But all the workers at the power plant should be getting the best of whatever they need to try and work safe.

Oh...NUclear workers. I thought it said UNclear workers, in which case I could use one right now.

Actually I'm thinking I should get one of these. It will be handy in my quest for world domination.

Workers at TEPCO detected 620 millisieverts of radiation an hour on the first floor of Reactor 3 last Thursday, the highest level found in that unit. I personally don't know how the TEPCO workers are doing these measurements but I hope they get these robot suits.

Imagine being in one of these and hard at work when it develops a glitch. Would two similar suited workers be able to drag you out of there???

Probably only 10 million yen each.

HAL: "I'm sorry, Dave. I'm afraid I can't do that. "

A product named after a computer in "2001 A Space Odyssey" made by a company named after a business in "Terminator". Reality inspired by art yet again. It would still be preferable to use robots in high radiation environments rather than a person in a suit. Use a virtual reality control system and the robot's operator could be safely away from the radiation. Maybe they should have taken their inspiration from Avatar rather than Alien?

The dangerous tasks are being given to the poor and when their 2-3 month long contacts have ended, more are rounded up.This article looks good but is not part of our reality.

Wouldn't be just easier for Cyberdyne to use a T-800 to do all of that dirty work instead of building a cybernetic body suit?

Probably only 10 million yen each.

Probably more than that.

I sure hope this doesn't mean TEPCO is building "Skynet" to monitor radiation.

Just my thought, Cactus Jack: did they have to call it HAL?

Also, I hope it contains air conditioning. Poor workers toiling in 40 degree heat - unimaginable.

@ pawatan

The Skynet Satellite Systems are already launched there British millitary ones

Net Ninja, its Hikaru dammit.

Why don't they just use robots instead of suits for this?

Vests made of tungsten can block radiation but are very heavy, making it difficult for workers to take on long shifts at highly contaminated sites, Cyberdyne noted.

It's my understanding that at highly contaminated sites, the workers can only work for minutes at a time. "Long shifts" - whether wearing tungsten aprons or not - are impossible.

I agree with the others: Get the humans out of the reactors and send robots in. Robots could concievably go where the melted fuel rods are and start separating the melted mass and placing the bits in isolation containers. They can take all sorts of radiation in the course of their duties and when everything has been done that CAN be done inside the reactors, leave the robots there along with all the other radioactive material. Because of the massive radiation at the melted rods, a human could never do that, even in a hard radiation suit.

NETNINJA! Rick hunter is a name I haven't heard for a long time. what was the name of the cartoon he was in?

Once again Japanese scientists leap forward in the field of robotics. Fantastic.