Send in the robots!

I have noticed some people commenting elsewhere about sending in various types of robot to save the plant. So I looked around the web and found quite a few things that would be potentially useful.


UNMANNED K-MAX HELICOPTER

This is capable of lifting about 2 tons, and it would be ideal for water drops onto the reactor. In fact it would have a lot of potential uses in this situation, and hopefully Japan is being made aware of its capability. This was developed for airborne resupply of isolated soldiers. It dropped 16 payloads in recent tests. It does have a cockpit so it can be flown manned if necessary.
http://www.gizmag.com/k-max-unmanned-helicopter-milestones/17969/


RADIO CONTROLLED HELICOPTERS WITH CAMERAS

There are a huge variety of small radio controlled helicopters which could be flown into the reactor buildings to get a closer look at the damage. A big limitation is that they have to be within line of sight of the radio controller, and maximum range is about 300 meters. Endurance is about 20 minutes before the battery runs out.

Tiny wireless cameras are available for these things, with a mass of only 9 grams.

Probably the coolest of all these is the Dragenflyer X6 flying camera. It looks like something out of James Bond. Be sure to check out the Youtube video below.





http://inventorspot.com/articles/draganflyer_x6_camera_007_would_love_27309


US NAVY FIRESCOUT

This is a really nice robotic flying camera. Endurance is 8 hours.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northrop_Grumman_MQ-8_Fire_Scout


ROBOT BULLDOZER

For clearing debris around the reactors, what about this 60 tonne robot bulldozer from Israel? The Israelis use it to clear roads of mines.

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/03/31/idf_robot_d9_revelations/


HYTRANS FIREWATER SUPPLY SYSTEM

This system can deliver 3000 litres per minute of water over several kilometers, using flexible hoses like the one in the picture. The Berkeley,CA fire department recently bought one for fighting fires after an earthquake. It can be rapidly deployed from trucks. Something like this could potentially provide a way to get water to the reactors and spent fuel ponds.
http://www.hytransfiresystem.com/


ROBOT FIRE ENGINE

The Japanese have developed a small robot fire engine called the Rainbow 5. If this could be lowered onto the roof of Reactor 3, maybe it could insert a hose into the spent fuel pond.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KOSh8dNGzYo





BUT WILL THE ELECTRONICS SURVIVE?


One potential snag is that most of these gadgets depend on silicon microchips. These microchips are somewhat vulnerable to strong radiation, which can cause computer errors.