Nasa
A fresh faced new crew member is scheduled to arrive at the International Space Station (ISS) this September 2010, arriving on the shuttle Discovery STS-133 mission.
Robonaut 2 or simply, R2 to his friends will become a permanent resident on board the ISS under a joint cooperation agreement between NASA and General Motors, to develop a robotic assistant able to work alongside humans, lending a helping hand or two!
R2, consisting of a torso, head, two arms and hands, and weighing in at 300lbs (136Kg) will be monitored to see how it copes in a weightless setting, and subjected to the station's radiation and electromagnetic environments. Eventually it is hoped that robots like R2 will be able to do those tasks too difficult or dangerous for humans, and perhaps one day to stand in for astronauts during spacewalks.
Robonaut 2 or simply, R2 to his friends will become a permanent resident on board the ISS under a joint cooperation agreement between NASA and General Motors, to develop a robotic assistant able to work alongside humans, lending a helping hand or two!
R2, consisting of a torso, head, two arms and hands, and weighing in at 300lbs (136Kg) will be monitored to see how it copes in a weightless setting, and subjected to the station's radiation and electromagnetic environments. Eventually it is hoped that robots like R2 will be able to do those tasks too difficult or dangerous for humans, and perhaps one day to stand in for astronauts during spacewalks.
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