Fukushima Robot Operator Tells His Story 57
An anonymous reader writes "An anonymous robot operator at Japan's Fukushima nuclear plant has kept a blog describing in candid detail his day-to-day life at the crippled facility, including robot training exercises and actual radiation-survey and clean-up missions. The blog was recently deleted, but some copies existed around the web and IEEE Spectrum has translated and published portions of it in English. The blog shows that although the operators use remote-controlled robots, they have to work in areas of high radiation, using protective gear and shielded trucks. They also rely on a great deal of improvisation, and there have been a few incidents that put the robot missions at risk."
Re:Tepco, Japan and the robots (Score:5, Informative)
They had plane-type UAVs do some fly-bys at a hundred meters or so about two weeks in; the helicopter-type capable of close-up pictures weren't used for over a month [engadget.com].
I agree about the problems going in the building - there's no way a heli could do it. The PackBot is the right tool for the entry job. iRobot sent them about a week in, but TEPCO waited weeks more before using them. Training is the only excuse I can think of, and it's pretty thin: I'm sure someone experienced with them would have volunteered to work the first couple weeks until TEPCO employees were ready to go.
Re:Shielding, relays, buildings (Score:4, Informative)
Inferring from TFA, the bots are able to run over WiFi, and one of the ways they increased range was by dragging an AP into the building. They can also run over an optical fiber - I'd assume that's also Ethernet, since it'd be silly to use a whole different technology when it's already controlled by 802 frames. I can't imagine why they couldn't scrounge some repeaters.
Shielding isn't too big a deal. You don't take that much damage from direct radiation unless you're standing near a large emitter... Just check your dosimeter before you set up camp. The much bigger hazard is inhaling particles of alpha-emitter which a) do a lot of damage when they're inside you and b) keep doing it for a long time. Fortunately, that's easy to handle with cleanroom-type particle filters.