The Octopus robot — the result of a collaboration between Kikuchi Corporation and Waseda University’s Future Robotics Organisation, is designed to clear rubble and rescue people in disaster-hit regions. It has four arms, four large tracked wheels and remote-control capabilities.

Weighing 700kg, the robot was unveiled at a conference for the Fukushima Disaster and Medical Welfare Project. It is designed to save lives during disasters like the 2011 Fukushima earthquake, which left dozens of people injured and blasted radiation into the sea and sky.

In addition to rescue operations following tsunamis and earthquakes, developers say the Octopus can come in handy for recycling operations, during fires and radioactive management procedures. Users can add features such as an optional grappler for work involving radioactive-waste and an optical fibre laser that can cut through stone.

The Octopus differs from other disaster-response robots by having a hydraulic system that allows it to do more than one thing at a time (all four arms can be used simultaneously, and each can carry up to 200kg).

Furthermore, its four wheels and crawlers give it access to a variety of terrains, and the two front arms can be used to support its body when navigating particularly uneven land. The robot can even lift its body completely off the ground. It currently takes two people to operate the Octopus; researchers hope to introduce one-man operation in the near future.