Nuclear clean-up robot tested at power plants

The Avexis robot takes its first plunge into a nuclear waste silo at the Sellafield plant in northern England. Small and nimble enough to squeeze into places human can't... it's helping survey a storage silo and clear away small bits of waste clinging to the silo wall, part of Sellafield's decommissioning process.

Avexis was co-developed by a team from the University of Manchester. It's equipped with cameras and sensors, including gamma and neutron detectors.

In July, these lava-like lumps were spotted inside a damaged reactor at the wrecked Fukushima nuclear plant. It suggests there may be nuclear fuel inside, but accurately locating it has proved tricky.

Earlier this month, Avexis was successfully tested in Japan close to Fukushima. The developers hope it will offer a cost-effective way of pinpointing fuel in the reactor so it can be safely removed.

At about 13,000 dollars, the makers say Avixis is the cheapest of its kind. Further tests are ongoing, ahead of eventual deployment into Fukushima's damaged nuclear core.