Chinese scientists have developed the country's first underwater robot that is used for working surrounding fuel rods inside nuclear reactors, Xinhua News Agency reported today.

The robot, developed by the Institute of Optics and Electronics under the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), has already been transferred to the Daya Bay Nuclear Power Station in south China's Guangdong Province.

Leading scientists from the Chengdu-based institute said the robot will observe the installation of fuel rods from underwater. It can also be used for salving objects falling into the fuel.

The robot is designed to pick up screwdrivers, spanners, bolts and broken glass, with a weight under one kilogram, the scientists said.

The China-made robot is much smaller and cheaper than similar foreign products. At only one-eighth of the price of foreign competitors, the Chinese robot is able to climb a slope of 30 degrees at a speed of 0.9 meters per minute.

Chinese automation experts said that this type of underwater robot has laid a solid foundation for further research and development in versatile artificial intelligence technologies.

(Xinhua News Agency February 2, 2006)