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Toshiba's radiation spotting camera means the end of 'nuclear hotspot hide and seek'
Toshiba's developed a camera that will take the guesswork out of finding radiation hotspots. Since the deadly particles / waves gather together in clumps, cleanup crews have to hunt around blind using geiger counters. The "Portable Gamma Camera" overlays data from a radiation sensor onto a live picture -- areas shaded with red pixels have high radiation, yellow and green is medium and blue is low. Simply point it where you think the trouble is and it'll show you exactly where to avoid. A prototype was used during the initial stages of the Fukushima cleanup and this model's around half the size and it can even run on batteries -- giving you three hours of lifesaving radiation detection.
Fukushima technician gives behind-the-scenes look at the cleanup operation
New details about the robotics deployed to help clean up Japan's Fukushima nuclear plant have emerged, thanks to a series of blog posts penned by an anonymous technician. Known only as 'S.H.', the blogger wrote of the effectiveness of the donated iRobot Packbots and Warriors (despite their prolonged exposure to electronics-damaging radiation), while criticizing the Tokyo Electric Power Company for what he saw as inept supervision, unreasonable schedules and disregard for technician safety. S.H., who helped retrofit a vacuum cleaner onto a robot to collect radioactive dust, also revealed technical details about the robots, explaining that they were manipulated with a PlayStation-style controller via a Panasonic Toughbook and that the devices were most effective in pairs, which allowed for better wireless connectivity and faster emergency response. The site was taken down after it began circulating on Twitter but IEEE kept and translated the posts, available for your perusal at the source link, below.
Monirobo measures radiation following nuclear crisis at Japan's Fukushima Daiichi power plant
According to a report by a Japanese news agency, a radiation monitoring robot, aptly named Monirobo, is the first non-human responder to go on-site following the partial meltdown at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. The machine, which was developed by Japan's Nuclear Safety Technology Centre to operate at lethal radiation levels, reportedly began work Friday, enlisting a 3D camera, radiation detector, and heat and humidity sensors to monitor the extent of the damage. A second Monirobo, used to collect samples and detect flammable gases, is expected to join its red counterpart soon -- both robots are operated by remote control from distances up to one kilometer away. They join the US Air Force's Global Hawk drone in unmanned surveillance of the crisis.
