How can robots help prevent a nuclear holocaust in Japan?

From http://robotland.blogspot.com/2011/03/nuclear-emergency-robots-from-europe.html

“While Japan is renowned for its cutting edge robotics technology the world is surprised and concerned to watch human firefighters and plant workers at the high risk Fukushima site north of Tokyo.

According to the German media reports Japan has asked Germany for remote controlled robots for operations at Fukushima 1. According to Christoph Unger, President of German Federal Office of Civil Protection and Disaster Assistance (BBK), an inquiry can be send out to the federal states to ask who can supply such robots as soon as specifications have been arrived from Japan.

The KHG Kerntechnische Hilfsdienste GmbH (Nuclear Technology Support Services) was founded in 1977 by the companies operating nuclear power plants in Germany, together with the fuel cycle industry and major research centres. KHG has a range of vehicles extending from a 22 ton radio-controlled excavator, to small radio-controlled inspection vehicle.

In France the Groupe INTRA, created in 1988, two years after the accident of Chernobyl, by the three French nuclear operators EDF, CEA and AREVA, has developed, operate and maintain a fleet of specific remote-controlled equipment, able to intervene instead of human beings, in the case of an accident in one of its members’ nuclear site.”

Will this really make a difference at Fukushima?

How confident are you about robotic technology in terms of disaster mitigation?