Plenary talk III: Robot & remote-controlled machine technology for response of disasters and accidents of nuclear power plants

Summary form only given. The Great Eastern Japan Earthquake and Tsunami occurred in March 11, 2011, and the accident of Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant occurred due to the earthquake and the tsunami. There have been lots of needs of remote-controlled machine technology including robot technology (RT) for the response of the disaster and the accident. Especially, in the case of accident of the nuclear power plant, various tasks are required to accomplish in the high-radiation environment, and utilization of remote-controlled machine technology was essential. In this presentation, it is introduced how the technology has been introduced and utilized in the emergent situation of the disaster, and what kind of technology is still demanded for the middle-range and long-range missions towards decommission of the nuclear power plants. It is also analyzed why the robot technology developed in the projects in Japan so far could not be introduced smoothly in the emergent situation, and issues are discussed how we should prepare for the disasters and accidents that can occur in future, including not only practical technology development but also maintenance of technology, training of operators, their system and organization such as mockups and test fields, and political strategy to realize it.