'A giant leap for tinmankind'
Source: Agencies |
November 3, 2010, Wednesday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
ROBONAUT 2 - affectionately known as R2 - is hitching a one-way ride to the International Space Station this week aboard the final flight of space shuttle Discovery.
It's the first humanoid robot ever bound for space, a US$2.5 million mechanical and electrical marvel that NASA hopes one day will assist flesh-and-bone astronauts in orbit.
Imagine, its creators say, a future where Robonaut could take over space station cleaning duties; spend hours outside in the extreme heat and cold, patiently holding tools for spacewalking astronauts; and handle emergencies such as toxic leaks or fires.
Robonaut's descendants could even scout out asteroids, Mars and other worlds in the decades ahead, paving the way for humans.
The adventure begins this afternoon, with the planned launch of Discovery and Robonaut's six human crewmates. Mission managers gave the green light on Monday for the new launch date; gas leaks had to be repaired before the countdown could begin and forced a two-day delay.
"While it might be just a single step for this robot, it's really a giant leap forward for tinmankind," said Rob Ambrose, acting chief of Johnson Space Center's automation, robotics and simulation division in Houston.
For now, R2 - a collaboration between NASA and General Motors - exists only from the waist up. It is 1 meter tall and weighs 136 kilograms. Each arm is 80 centimeters long.
While legs are still in the works, R2 boasts perfectly toned arms and hands along with broad shoulders and a washboard stomach. Watch Robonaut lifting a 9-kilogram dumbbell, and "you can kind of feel the burn," Ambrose said, showing a video at a news conference.
Made of aluminum and nickel-plated carbon fiber, the torso, arms and hands are padded to protect Robonaut and the astronauts.
R2's eyes are where they should be: in its gold-colored head. Four visible light cameras are located behind the robot's visor, and an infrared camera is in its mouth for depth perception. But its brain is in its stomach; engineers had nowhere else to put the computerized gray matter.
A backpack holds a power system for plugging R2 into the space station.
The joints are filled with springs for give, and more than 350 electrical sensors are scattered throughout, allowing R2 to sense even a feather.
NASA began working on its first dexterous robot in 1997, and made room for R2 on Discovery's 39th mission. It is scheduled to be the next-to-last shuttle program flight, although an additional trip may be added next year.
Discovery's astronaut-physician, Michael Barratt, would have loved to pawn off toilet cleaning while living at the space station last year. But Barratt cautions: "It will be a long time" before the robot can do a job as quickly and efficiently as a human.
NASA hopes to send up legs in late 2011, followed a year later by enhancements enabling the robot to venture out on spacewalks.
R2 will be on board when the space station stops operating sometime after 2020 and NASA sends it hurtling into the Pacific.
It's the first humanoid robot ever bound for space, a US$2.5 million mechanical and electrical marvel that NASA hopes one day will assist flesh-and-bone astronauts in orbit.
Imagine, its creators say, a future where Robonaut could take over space station cleaning duties; spend hours outside in the extreme heat and cold, patiently holding tools for spacewalking astronauts; and handle emergencies such as toxic leaks or fires.
Robonaut's descendants could even scout out asteroids, Mars and other worlds in the decades ahead, paving the way for humans.
The adventure begins this afternoon, with the planned launch of Discovery and Robonaut's six human crewmates. Mission managers gave the green light on Monday for the new launch date; gas leaks had to be repaired before the countdown could begin and forced a two-day delay.
"While it might be just a single step for this robot, it's really a giant leap forward for tinmankind," said Rob Ambrose, acting chief of Johnson Space Center's automation, robotics and simulation division in Houston.
For now, R2 - a collaboration between NASA and General Motors - exists only from the waist up. It is 1 meter tall and weighs 136 kilograms. Each arm is 80 centimeters long.
While legs are still in the works, R2 boasts perfectly toned arms and hands along with broad shoulders and a washboard stomach. Watch Robonaut lifting a 9-kilogram dumbbell, and "you can kind of feel the burn," Ambrose said, showing a video at a news conference.
Made of aluminum and nickel-plated carbon fiber, the torso, arms and hands are padded to protect Robonaut and the astronauts.
R2's eyes are where they should be: in its gold-colored head. Four visible light cameras are located behind the robot's visor, and an infrared camera is in its mouth for depth perception. But its brain is in its stomach; engineers had nowhere else to put the computerized gray matter.
A backpack holds a power system for plugging R2 into the space station.
The joints are filled with springs for give, and more than 350 electrical sensors are scattered throughout, allowing R2 to sense even a feather.
NASA began working on its first dexterous robot in 1997, and made room for R2 on Discovery's 39th mission. It is scheduled to be the next-to-last shuttle program flight, although an additional trip may be added next year.
Discovery's astronaut-physician, Michael Barratt, would have loved to pawn off toilet cleaning while living at the space station last year. But Barratt cautions: "It will be a long time" before the robot can do a job as quickly and efficiently as a human.
NASA hopes to send up legs in late 2011, followed a year later by enhancements enabling the robot to venture out on spacewalks.
R2 will be on board when the space station stops operating sometime after 2020 and NASA sends it hurtling into the Pacific.
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