China develops remote-controlled radiation-detecting robots

It is similar to the ones used in cleaning up and repairing the quake-damaged Fukushima nuclear reactors. This robot is capable of detecting radiation and chemicals in complicated circumstances, said Song Aiguo, dean of the School of Instrument Science and Engineering of Southeast University in Nanjing, East Chinas Jiangsu Province.Measuring 88cm in height and weighing 30kg, the robot is capable of climbing up slopes with an inclination of up to 60 degrees, wading through water, going downstairs and taking sharp turns and taking measures of radiation in earthquake debris.It is the fifth generation of such robot developed last year in the Robot Sensor and Control Laboratory of SEU. The first was developed in 2007. The robots were used by the anti-terrorism units in the 2008 Beijing Olympics and Shanghai Expo 2010.The robot can also locate radioactive sources and transmit radiation volume it takes to the operator in real time while it can pick up small civil radioactive sources and put them into its lead box.