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.
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
NASA and GM Take a Giant Leap Forward in Robotics http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lSk2iKqrp64&feature=player_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=--qBJdGHz0c&feature=related and this CGI of Robonaut on the Moon - 2 minute video NASA JSC Project M Video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kFPNcWN7QnM&feature=related What is Project M ? http://www.americaspace.org/?p=364
'bot's got a Boba Fett helmet for a face. You just know someone's coming back from the ISS frozen in carbonite.
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...
Here he is on the ISS. Just unboxed. 11 minute video. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hkagxtiy1-M&feature=player_embedded#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...
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).
I'm disappointed by the failure to implement terminology to distinguish between the various types of mechanical assistance equipment: 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. 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. 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.
I think it's called Robonaut 2. You might find a thread about it in the science and technology forum.
Funny. It already says the Robonaut 2 is only supposed to be used on the interior of the ISS. The Repair robot that I am referring to is supposed to be mounted on the girder system and use The or a version of The Canadian robotic arm. I didn't recall NASA putting this robot up on the ISS so it seemed a little strange for them to spend the money to put another robot on the interior of the station. I just realized I've been posting to a thread from 2010 shouldn't this have been closed?
Only to begin with. I think your referring to a pair of fine manipulators that were/are useable at the end of the main arm and would also be able to travel along the truss system. Not sure if that ever got implemented, but it does bring up the question of when do you start referring to something as a "robot".
Perhaps you were thinking of Dextre? (Although, come to think of it, I've also seen the Robonaut depicted as being mounted on the end of the Canadarm, as here.)
The Robonaut was created by man. It evolved. It rebelled. There are many copies. And it has a patent. The first two would definitely be considered "robots" IMO, especially since there's a certain amount of overlap in functionality in, say, commercial airliners where the aircraft can actually fly and even LAND itself without human intervention but otherwise can only move as the pilot tells it to. Later generations of Canadarm-style manipulators will probably be able to perform some simple operations automatically--like, say, unstowing equipment from cargo modules and so on--but will have a manual override for unscripted tasks. Teleoperated lunar probes are ALREADY being designed this way. As for the third category, until you get something that can operate fully autonomously, you're really just talking about a very well-programmed robot. A machine that you can give a set of goals and let it decide how and when to accomplish those goals would be classified as an A.I. or possibly a "drone," in that they require almost no human intervention and can (reasonably) reliably complete their missions.