CHENGDU, China, Feb. 6 (UPI) -- Chinese scientists have developed the country's first robot capable of working underwater.
Due to high radiation levels, some nuclear power plant work requires the use of specialized robots. The underwater robot, constructed by the Chinese Academy of Sciences Institute of Optics and Electronics in Chengdu, was designed to work underwater around fuel rods inside nuclear reactors.
China intends to build 20 or more new nuclear power plants over the next 15 years under its massive civil nuclear power program.
The device has already been sent to the Daya Bay nuclear power station in Guangdong.
Among the tasks given the robot is observing the installation of fuel rods from underwater. The device can also be used to salvage objects of up to 2.5 pounds which have fallen into the fuel.
The new device is much more compact and inexpensive than similar foreign products, costing one-eighth as much. The Chinese robot is able to climb a grade of 30 degrees at a speed of three-feet per minute.
