Toshiba shows new robot for nuclear cleanup

Toshiba Corp. unveiled a robot Wednesday that it says can withstand high radiation and help in nuclear disasters. What exactly the new machine will be capable of doing, however, when it gets the go-ahead to enter Japan's crippled Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant, remains unclear. The four-legged robot can climb over debris and venture into radiated areas off-limits to human workers. One significant innovation, Toshiba said, is that its wireless network can be controlled in high radiation, automatically seeking better transmission when reception becomes weak. But the machine, which looks like an ice cooler on wobbly metal legs, also appears prone to glitches.