MF3 (kabelgesteuertes Manipulatorfahrzeug)

Where dose rates are highest, KHG switches from radio to cable: the MF3 manipulator vehicle of Germany's nuclear emergency service in Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen draws 230 V / 16 A and all control, video and audio signals through a 100 m cable, which also defines its working radius.

The machine weighs 400 kg, carries 250 kg, is 75 cm wide and 108 cm high, with a length of 94 to 226 cm depending on configuration; four independently pivoting track carriers let it climb 45-degree stairs at 0 to 10 m/min (0.6 km/h). Interchangeable KM20 and KM80 articulated manipulators offer 6 to 8 degrees of freedom, arms of 1,600 to 2,000 mm and 20 to 80 daN of force, with grippers and tools to match.

The operator views a black-and-white stereo camera on a pan-tilt head plus driving cameras, listens through a microphone and relies on onboard lighting. KHG's fleet also includes a 22 t radio-controlled excavator, according to KIT; an HMS mini-excavator from IABG is not catalogued here. As service-owned equipment the MF3 has no market price, and the datasheet gives no build year.

Its radio-controlled sibling MF4 is lighter, faster and works up to 1 km away, but only for 2 hours per charge – the MF3 instead runs indefinitely within its cable's reach. The same logic applied at Fukushima, where Japan's Quince robot was also tethered.