Honda Robot to Inspect Damaged Nuclear Plant in Japan

Tokyo Electric Power Co. says it will use a special robot equipped with technology developed by Honda Motor Co. to check radiation levels and structural damage at its crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power complex.

Honda Robotics developed the special-purpose unit, borrowing technologies it has developed for its Asimo humanoid robot.

The dexterous robot has an arm with 11 joints that can extend as high as 7 meters (23 feet). The arm is fitted with a dosimeter, laser range-finder and zoom camera.

Four of the Fukushima Daiichi facility's six reactors were heavily damaged by Japan's earthquake and tsunami in March 2011. Tokyo Electric decommissioned the facility last year and canceled plans to erect two more reactors on the site.