Quote Originally Posted by [XC] riptide View Post
Gamma radiation will breeze through lead unless its seriously thick. You'd want a robot with a couple of metres of lead shielding to be secure for its electronics. Gamma radiation will flip bits like burgers at McDonalds. Or else use just a 'dumb' robot with wiring and all electronics cable attached with an operator offsite. You'd basically want a wire controlled version of a tank with a hydraulic acting arm I'd imagine Even then I suspect high levels of radiation would screw something up like the oil.
Radiation hardened electronics do exists:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radiation_hardening
How else could electronics survive in space?

Radiation hardened robots also exist, a quote from with Russias Emergencies Minister:

"As an emergency response force we built a large robotics center. We have big heavy robots that are able to clean up debris in high levels of radiation or when there is a chemical hazard."
(sourtce; http://rt.com/news/japan-nuclear-emergency-rescue/)

and I sure many other countries also have similar equipment.


To me it seem that the Japanese decion makers are dragging their feet and trying to do everything themselves despite that incapable of handling the situation. It was only today that they asked USA for help!
If they had asked Russia and USA for help with the nuclear situation last weeked when it looked like things where getting out of control they could have had those robots at the nuclear plant right now and the situation would likely have been better.