Chinese scientists have developed the country's first underwater
robot that is used for working surrounding fuel rods inside nuclear
reactors, Xinhua News Agency reported today.
The robot, developed by the Institute of Optics and Electronics
under the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), has
already been transferred to the Daya Bay Nuclear Power Station in
south China's
Guangdong Province.
Leading scientists from the Chengdu-based institute said the
robot will observe the installation of fuel rods from underwater.
It can also be used for salving objects falling into the fuel.
The robot is designed to pick up screwdrivers, spanners, bolts
and broken glass, with a weight under one kilogram, the scientists
said.
The China-made robot is much smaller and cheaper than similar
foreign products. At only one-eighth of the price of foreign
competitors, the Chinese robot is able to climb a slope of 30
degrees at a speed of 0.9 meters per minute.
Chinese automation experts said that this type of underwater
robot has laid a solid foundation for further research and
development in versatile artificial intelligence technologies.
(Xinhua News Agency February 2, 2006)