Tactical Robots Used In Japanese Nuclear Crisis

Models produced by iRobot — two iRobot 510 PackBot robots and two iRobot 710 Warrior robots — arrived in Japan on Friday. The two smaller robots can measure radiation levels close to the reactors and the two larger ones can pull hoses to spray water on the fuel rods.

March 27, 2011

Tactical robots available to law enforcement agencies have been working at the crippled Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station in Japan helping contain the nuclear crisis.

Models produced by iRobot — two iRobot 510 PackBot robots and two iRobot 710 Warrior robots — arrived in Japan on Friday. The two smaller robots can measure radiation levels close to the reactors and the two larger ones can pull hoses to spray water on the fuel rods, reports the New York Times.

The Japanese military requested the robots from the Massachusetts-based company, CEO Colin Angle told the newspaper.

In addition, six iRobot employees traveled to Japan to train Japanese authorities on how to operate the robots.

iRobot has delivered more than 3,500 of these robots to military and civil defense forces around the globe. They're typically used for law enforcement missions such as identification and disposal of explosive devices, reconnaissance, hostage negotiations and other operations.

The iRobot 510 PackBot can also be outfitted with sensors that can detect chemical, biological and radioactive materials, a company spokesman told POLICE Magazine.

Read the full story at NYTimes.com.

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