The hot stuff man

This program takes place at Hughes Aircraft Company in California and features the Mobot Mark I, an electrohydraulic device that was developed as a lab technician for tasks too dangerous for humans. John Colp, of the Radiation Effects Lab at Sandia Corp., shows the mobot operating between the radiation room, where component parts are exposed to atomic radiation, and the hot cell, where the mobot analyzes the components' damage and tests them for malfunction. Design engineer Vaughn Thompson explains the design of the mobot's pincers, elbow rotation, and other movements and how the hydraulic system functions. Dr. John Clark, manager of the nuclear electronics lab at Hughes, displays a diagram of the operating system controlling the mobot and explains how the mobot's movements are controlled on the operator's console. A triaxial cable carries all signals via a multiplexing circuitry to the mobot. The mobot demonstrates its dexterity by putting a golf ball into a cup, and operator Stan Pearlman successfully guides the mobot through an exercise in finding a dumbbell hidden by Lynn Poole. Drawings of future mobots include models to fight fires and to explore underwater and lunar areas.