Japan launches new workforce in Fukushima 1

Chiba Technology Institute (CIT) on July 12 launched an advanced robot designed to carry out missions inside high-radiation reactor buildings at the Fukushima No. 1 power plant.

The mission of the new robot can start from August 2012.

Nicknamed Rosemary , the dedicated robot for work at these nuclear power plants could transport heavier bodies than its predecessor , the Quince.

Quince is designed to assist in disaster management and has been used at the Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) nuclear complex since June 2011 to test inside reactor buildings and capture image.

At the press conference, a Rosemary robot transported 60 kilograms of material, six times the maximum capacity of Quince while another Rosemary robot was equipped with a camera with a maximum viewing height 3m to be able to check the pipeline near the reactor top.

"The new robot can perform difficult tasks with its steady mobility ," said Eiji Koyanagi, deputy director of CIT's Future Robot Technology Center .