Special Issue on Creative Robot Contest for Decommissioning

Abstract

The decommissioning of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, the plant affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake, will continue for a long time to come, but few young people are willing to take on the challenge because they tend to have the impression that decommissioning work is a post-accident cleanup. However, decommissioning is the most important issue for Fukushima and is of global importance. Therefore, the National Institute of Technology, Fukushima College (Fukushima KOSEN), which is located closest to the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, established a council of cooperation and started the Creative Robot Contest for Decommissioning in cooperation with other National Institute of Technologies (KOSEN) to increase the awareness and interest in decommissioning among the young. The robot contest, themed on issues related to the decommissioning of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, has been held annually since 2016 for students of KOSEN across Japan, and the 7th Creative Robot Contest for Decommissioning is scheduled to be held in December 2022. Although the ideas and robots developed by KOSEN students from all over Japan to solve the problems involved in the decommissioning will not directly contribute to future decommissioning work, the ideas and technologies learned can be used in other fields, and the participating students are expected to be active in a wide range of fields as well. This special issue contains review papers of the Creative Robot Contest for Decommissioning, development reports, and research papers on the robots developed. A total of eight papers are included: two review papers, two research papers, and four development reports on decommissioning robots designed by students. At the same time, we hope that young people in Japan and abroad will also become interested in the robots introduced in this special issue, and that the decommissioning work of Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant will proceed safely and securely by combining the wisdom of the whole world.