NASA sending Robonaut 2 (R2) to ISS in Sept.2010

[jefferiestubes8]

NASA plans to send Robonaut 2 (R2) into space. R2 will be the first human-like robot in space when it is launched on the shuttle Discovery later this year to become a permanent resident of the International Space Station (ISS).

300-pound R2 consists of a head and a torso with two arms and two hands.

With human-like hands and arms, R2 is able to use the same tools station crew members use.

For now, R2 is still a prototype and does not have adequate protection needed to exist outside the space station in the extreme temperatures of space.

Once aboard the station R2 will be confined to operations in the station's Destiny laboratory where engineers will monitor how the robot operates in weightlessness. However, future enhancements and modifications may allow it to move more freely around the station's interior or outside the complex.

http://www.gizmag.com/robonaut-r2-nasa-mission/14817/

This is good news as surely there will be robotic needs on the journey to the next place humans will land on.
Those hands look great. 5 fingers. I can see the uses on earth for them too.

[Brent]

wow, it actually looks quite futuristic too, nice design

or should I say he, heh, cause when it gains sentience I want to be on his good side

[jefferiestubes8]

NASA and GM Take a Giant Leap Forward in Robotics
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lSk2i...layer_embedded

5 minute video at Johnson space Center in 1080p HD. Pretty cool stuff.
The hand dexterity at 1:55 is pretty amazing.


also see: Science Channel 5min. video with Robonaut
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=--qBJ...eature=related

and this CGI of Robonaut on the Moon - 2 minute video
NASA JSC Project M Video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kFPNc...eature=related

Robonaut-based, tele-operated mission to the Moon - one that JSC claims could be accomplished in 1,000 days once the go-ahead was given.

What is Project M ?
http://www.americaspace.org/?p=364

[T'Girl]

"R2, the EVA is over. Open the air lock door.'

**I'm afraid I can't do that Dave.**

[SeerSGB]

'bot's got a Boba Fett helmet for a face.



You just know someone's coming back from the ISS frozen in carbonite.

[Lindley]

Oh, come on. They named the first human-like space robot *R2*? Seriously? That's all kinds of backwards.

It damn well better be fluent in six million forms of communication.

[larryman]

Lindley wrote:

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Oh, come on. They named the first human-like space robot *R2*? Seriously? That's all kinds of backwards.

It damn well better be fluent in six million forms of communication.

It would be a good start if it could say:
"Welcome to Altair-4, gentlemen", or "Danger... Danger Will Robinson".

Now, if NASA would just get to work on an anti-gravity/hyperspace flying saucer...

[All Seeing Eye]

When is the D2 coming into it?

[sojourner]

^When it goes haywire and 2 people Die. D2.

[jefferiestubes8]

Here he is on the ISS. Just unboxed. 11 minute video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hkagx...mbedded#at=605

via Engadget.

Pretty cool to see it happen. This is the official first robot in space on the ISS. This is where it begins. Moon and asteroid/planets in the next 20-50 years...

[sojourner]

What begins? We have been sending "robotic" probes out for years.

[FPAlpha]

The term may be misleading.. they are automated probes.

This is something really different and i'm amazed about the progress that's made each decade.

For us it's simple to lift a blanket and take out an envelope but imagine how much programming and technical dexterity it needs to accomplish such a simple task and it can be done nowadays.

This is a far cry from the Japanese "show" robots where they try to amaze people with human features but that's only superficial. The advancements are huge and will only get greater.

I don't think it's unfeasible to say that in a few decades we might have robots that equal those of I Robot (the ones doing delivery.. not the more advanced white ones).

[ngc7293]

What happened to the robot that was going to be sent up to ISS as a repair bot outside?

[RobertVA]

I'm disappointed by the failure to implement terminology to distinguish between the various types of mechanical assistance equipment:

1. Some are basically remote operated manipulators with some minor feedback mechanisms to alleviate problems with alignment and grasping pressure. These require constant direction by a human at a control station. Not of much use reducing labor costs, but pretty handy in dangerous environments like deep water or high radiation.
2. Some have every motion (or nearly every motion) planned in advance by human specialist for precise material manipulation, often for repeated manufacturing processes. This type might require little real time supervision but has almost no capability to adapt to unexpected circumstances. Often provisions have to be made to exclude humans from the machine's work area to preclude injuries.
3. The real challenge is designing and programming a machine that can adapt to unexpected circumstances in it's work space without constant human intervention (with fast two way communications). Simple efforts include the Mars rovers, but they have to perform many of their activities at excruciatingly slow speeds so that humans back on Earth can monitor them to improve their survival prospects.

I'm thinking the term "robot" exaggerates the capabilities of many of these systems, especially the first two types.

While there's value in manipulators designed to share tools with a human, alternative equipment like a power screwdriver/impact wrench or a mini hand that connects directly to the system's "wrist" might be very useful in some circumstances. There might also be situations where differnt distances between joints and greater range of motion at the joints would be essential.

[sojourner]

ngc7293 wrote:

---

What happened to the robot that was going to be sent up to ISS as a repair bot outside?

I think it's called Robonaut 2. You might find a thread about it in the science and technology forum.