Book 15, Question 24
Why Do Engineers Send Robots to Places That Are Too Hot, Too Deep, or Too Far for People?
Engineers send robots to places that are too hot, too deep, or too far for people! Robots do not need air, food, or comfortable temperatures. They can go first, so people can learn about a place before they go.
More fun facts
- In 2011, a tsunami badly damaged Japan's Fukushima nuclear plant, and parts of it are still highly contaminated with radiation.
- Engineers built a small swimming robot nicknamed Little Sunfish to look inside a flooded reactor.
- The only way in was a hole just 14 cm wide, so the robot was built only 13 cm across.
- It is 30 cm long and carries front and rear cameras with LED lights.
- A wire powers it, and operators steer it with five thrusters.
- Six years after the disaster, it took what were believed to be the first images of melted nuclear fuel there.
- The solidified lumps were probably a mix of melted metal and fuel.
Sources: global.toshiba, bbc.com
Questions kids ask
How long did the robot's search take?
Little Sunfish explored the reactor during a three-day investigation.