Rescue robots have been deployed in the parts of of Japan worst affected by the massive earthquake and tsunamis that struck Friday. Robiticist Satoshi Tadoko is apparently leading a team from Tohoku University en route to Sendai with ‘a snakelike robot that can wriggle into debris to hunt for people.’

I’m reluctant to be glib about this, but snake robots would not be a comforting prospect after being hit by a tsunami, but hey. The snakelike robot – given the less sexy official name ‘Active Scope Camera’ – is an 8-metre long fiber-optic scope covered with hair-like structures that vibrate to move it forward at around 7 cm per second.

Partners of Tohuku University at Texas University’s Center for Robot-Assisted Search and Rescue are standing by for an invitation to send American rescue bots to Japan, which would include more of the above ‘snake bots,’ flying cameras and wheeled rovers for closer examination of buildings and bridges.

[CNET]