Sanyo rover checks for house cracks

A new Sanyo Electric Co. robot can check for cracks in the foundations of homes by crawling through the narrow, inaccessible space under the floorboards.

The treaded robot has a video camera that relays real-time images to a remote location. It can automatically avoid obstacles in its path and can be remotely controlled with a computer mouse.

While the bot would be useful for checking for temblor damage in quake-prone Japan, Sanyo says it will promote the use of homes for longer periods, which a new law calls for to save on resources. Japanese residential buildings are typically torn down after only a few decades of use. Sanyo hopes to sell 1,000 units annually of the robot, which will retail for less than 1 million yen ($8,800), in five years.

Via Kyodo News