I am not seeing exactly how this robot can be used to explore the damaged nuclear plants in Fukushima (I understand they are not designed to resist radiation), but it’s pretty cool nonetheless. Jointly developed by the Tokyo Institute of Technology and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, the so-called Tri-Star IV is actually supposed to carry out missions on the moon.
The makers of the lunar rover says it can overcome sand, rubble and other objects standing in the way easily, thanks to its three wheels and the special way they are designed (see below).
The Tri-Star IV weighs 50kg, is as fast as 1m/s, can be remote-controlled and was first publicly shown last year.
This video (provided by Diginfonews Tokyo) shows the robot in action: