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Japan Sinkhole Grows to Almost Olympic Pool Length

The truck pulled out from a sinkhole is seen at the scene without its driver’s cabin, in Yashio, Saitama Prefecture, near Tokyo, Japan, 31 January 2025. EPA/FRANCK ROBICHON
The truck pulled out from a sinkhole is seen at the scene without its driver’s cabin, in Yashio, Saitama Prefecture, near Tokyo, Japan, 31 January 2025. EPA/FRANCK ROBICHON
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Japan Sinkhole Grows to Almost Olympic Pool Length

The truck pulled out from a sinkhole is seen at the scene without its driver’s cabin, in Yashio, Saitama Prefecture, near Tokyo, Japan, 31 January 2025. EPA/FRANCK ROBICHON
The truck pulled out from a sinkhole is seen at the scene without its driver’s cabin, in Yashio, Saitama Prefecture, near Tokyo, Japan, 31 January 2025. EPA/FRANCK ROBICHON

Emergency workers in Japan began building a ramp Friday to try and reach a 74-year-old truck driver who has not been heard from since his vehicle was swallowed by a sinkhole this week.

The cavity has expanded to 40 meters (130 feet) across, almost the length of an Olympic swimming pool, since opening up in a city just north of Tokyo on Tuesday morning, officials said.

The growing hole could be the result of corroded sewage pipes, according to authorities in Yashio.

"It is an extremely dangerous condition," local fire chief Tetsuji Sato told reporters on Thursday at the traffic intersection where dozens of rescuers have been working around the clock.

"We are planning to construct a slope (to access the hole) from a safer spot so that we will be able to send heavy equipment," AFP quoted him as saying.

He added that groundwater was leaking inside and that the hole was "continuing to cave in.”

No communication has been had with the driver since around midday Tuesday, with soil and other debris now covering the cabin of his lorry in Yashio.

The punctured pipes "potentially allowed the surrounding soil to flow in and the space under the ground to hollow out", Daisuke Tsutsui, a Saitama prefectural official, told AFP on Thursday.

Authorities hoped to complete the 30-metre slope on Friday, but a local official said it may take several days.

The operation has been aggravated by the inner walls of the hole -- now around 10 meters (30 feet) deep -- continuing to erode, preventing rescue workers from staying inside it for long.

Initially, the hole was around five meters in diameter but it has since combined with a much larger cavity that opened during the rescue operation on Tuesday night.

As the sinkhole has expanded, heavy chunks of asphalt have occasionally fallen in, preventing rescue workers from going near the chasm.

This has also made it dangerous to place heavy machinery nearby.

The 1.2 million people living in the area have been asked to cut back on showers and laundry to prevent leaking sewage from making the operation even more difficult.

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KAUST Develops Robotic System to Improve Date Palm Harvesting

The robotic arms of the system will be able to move as quickly as a human farmer while precisely picking each date without damage to itself or the fruit - SPA
The robotic arms of the system will be able to move as quickly as a human farmer while precisely picking each date without damage to itself or the fruit - SPA
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KAUST Develops Robotic System to Improve Date Palm Harvesting

The robotic arms of the system will be able to move as quickly as a human farmer while precisely picking each date without damage to itself or the fruit - SPA
The robotic arms of the system will be able to move as quickly as a human farmer while precisely picking each date without damage to itself or the fruit - SPA

The King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) has been developing a new robotic system designed to automate date palm harvesting, SPA reported.
According to a KAUST press release, the system aims to revolutionize the agriculture industry and establish Saudi Arabia as a leader in agriculture innovation. The research, led by KAUST Assistant Professor Shinkyu Park, focuses on automating key processes in date farming, such as harvesting, pollination, and tree maintenance through AI-powered robotics, and promises to yield larger quantities of more nutritious dates.
Park's "robotic farmers" solution combines robotics for reliable farming and AI for greater efficiency. The robotic arms of the system will be able to move as quickly as a human farmer while precisely picking each date without damage to itself or the fruit. Equipped with high-precision visual sensors, the robotic farmers can identify individual dates, flowers, and tree structures to perform tasks such as harvesting, spraying, and pruning, ensuring tree health, productivity, and longevity while reducing the risk of pest infestations and diseases.
Field trials are scheduled to begin during the 2025 harvest season, with full operational capability expected within three years. Park suggested that a Robots-as-a-Service (RaaS) model could allow smaller farmers to access the technology without the burden of purchasing the robots outright.
The project is one of many at KAUST that will benefit date farming and food security. Such projects provide Saudi Arabia an advantage not only in agricultural technology but also in agricultural expertise, as leaders in farming and robotics are drawn to the region, while laborers will be the first to engage with the new technologies developed by Park and his team, according to the release.
"I am excited that this initiative extends beyond engineering solutions and cultivates research and development opportunities for local talent, contributing to the long-term sustainable educational and economic growth of the Kingdom," he said.