NASA's Personal Satellite Assistants

colonist writes "Wired News reports on the Personal Satellite Assistant (PSA), a spherical robot about the size of a softball that uses air jets to move in the microgravity environment of space vehicles and habitats. Described as a cross between Star Trek's tricorder and Star Wars' lightsaber training droid, the PSA has 'sensors for measuring gases, temperature, and air pressure' and performs 'video conferencing and can communicate with electronic support devices such as computer servers, avionics systems, and wireless LAN bridges'." We mentioned these a few years ago - looks like they've come a long way since then.

Comments

Other links of interest

[bonghorn]

More information is available here and here.

Kind of weird that they don't play up the fact it runs linux more.

the BIT

[drenehtsral]

It sounds to me like the Bit from tron =:-) *YES* *NO*

More on Defense Tech

[noahmax]

There's a bunch more on how the Trek-inspired 'bot was built and tested here.

Earning my nerd stripes

[darth_MALL]

Wrong SW droid man! The IT-0 droid in that link is a torture droid. You will find the correct Training Remote Here. May the Force be with YOU!

Cost of Space Missions

[artlu]

If droids can replace mundane human tasks on space missions, then Nasa is doing very well to spend their money on these things. Just think of it as a droid automating the stupid tasks of checking environmental controls, or outside activity. pretty cool.

Not that cool

[scottennis]

On the coolness meter it only rates slightly higher than sharks with frickin' laser beams on their heads.