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Android as a mate for lonely astronauts
Source: Agencies |
February 18, 2011, Friday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
LONELY astronauts on the International Space Station may soon be getting an android friend from Japan.
And for the folks back home, it will tweet.
Japan's space agency is considering putting a talking humanoid robot on the ISS to watch the mission while astronauts are asleep, monitor their health and stress levels and communicate to earth through the microblogging site Twitter.
Japan's space agency JAXA announced this week that it is looking at a plan to send a humanoid robot to the space station in 2013 that could communicate with the ground through Twitter - primarily feeding photos, rather than original ideas - and provide astronauts with "comfort and companionship."
Following up on NASA's "Robonaut" R-2 program, which is set for launch on the Discovery shuttle next week, the Japanese android would be part of a larger effort to create and refine robots that can be used by the elderly, JAXA said in a statement.
Japan is one of the leading countries in robotics, and has a rapidly aging society.
Improving robot communication capabilities could help the elderly on earth by providing a non-intrusive means of monitoring the robot owner's health and vital signs and sending information to emergency responders if there is an abnormality, JAXA said.
"We are thinking in terms of a very human-like robot that would have facial expressions and be able to converse with the astronauts," said JAXA's Satoshi Sano.
The robot was being developed with the advertising and communications giant Dentsu Inc and Tokyo University.
The NASA project has human-like head, hands and arms and uses the same tools as station crew members. The "Robonaut" called R-2 - a shout-out to R2-D2 of "Star Wars" fame - is intended to carry out maintenance tasks in the station's Destiny lab.
And for the folks back home, it will tweet.
Japan's space agency is considering putting a talking humanoid robot on the ISS to watch the mission while astronauts are asleep, monitor their health and stress levels and communicate to earth through the microblogging site Twitter.
Japan's space agency JAXA announced this week that it is looking at a plan to send a humanoid robot to the space station in 2013 that could communicate with the ground through Twitter - primarily feeding photos, rather than original ideas - and provide astronauts with "comfort and companionship."
Following up on NASA's "Robonaut" R-2 program, which is set for launch on the Discovery shuttle next week, the Japanese android would be part of a larger effort to create and refine robots that can be used by the elderly, JAXA said in a statement.
Japan is one of the leading countries in robotics, and has a rapidly aging society.
Improving robot communication capabilities could help the elderly on earth by providing a non-intrusive means of monitoring the robot owner's health and vital signs and sending information to emergency responders if there is an abnormality, JAXA said.
"We are thinking in terms of a very human-like robot that would have facial expressions and be able to converse with the astronauts," said JAXA's Satoshi Sano.
The robot was being developed with the advertising and communications giant Dentsu Inc and Tokyo University.
The NASA project has human-like head, hands and arms and uses the same tools as station crew members. The "Robonaut" called R-2 - a shout-out to R2-D2 of "Star Wars" fame - is intended to carry out maintenance tasks in the station's Destiny lab.
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