Here, we describe the early stage design, construction and testing of a miniature silicon carbide diode neutron sensing instrument. It is intended that a more mature version of this instrument will be used as part of a robotic manipulator to investigate various parts of the stricken Fukushima nuclear power plant. Here, three such silicon carbide based proto-type sensors have been created, two of which have differing thicknesses of boron-10 deposited on, with the final one left bare. The thicknesses and materials chosen have been informed via Monte Carlo software (MCNP 6.2) which was also used to assess the suitability of two other potential converter materials – Lithium-6 and gadolinium-157. The work goes on to describe the design, construction and testing of the prototype device at two sites around the UK. The project is part of a UK/Japanese collaboration between Lancaster University and Kyoto University and is supported by an EPSRC grant via the UK Japan Civil nuclear research program.