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Japanese Consortium Projects a Humanoid Robot On the Moon By 2015

Posted by timothy on from the why-can't-they-send-them-all? dept.

JoshuaInNippon writes "A Japanese manufacturing cooperative named Astro-Technology SOHLA announced on April 27th that they are planning to create and send a two-legged humanoid robot to the moon, have it draw the Japanese flag on the surface, and hopefully then get it to return to the Earth, all by the year 2015. The group wants to inspire people, particularly in Japan, about space and generate confidence among SMEs to create low-cost space technology. While the idea may seem far-fetched to some, SOHLA had success in building a small low-cost satellite named Maido-1, which was launched into space aboard a Japanese H-IIA rocket in early 2009. The group also commented that they want to have their future humanoid robot hitch a ride to the moon with a surveying rover that JAXA is building."

12 of 151 comments (clear)

  1. And What Will It Do? by WrongSizeGlass · · Score: 4, Funny

    Will it be able to hit golfballs like the earlier astronauts? Will it plant a flag? Hell, will it even be able to right itself or free itself from its restraints once it 'lands'?

    If they just want to lose a robot, they should send it down the Jersey Turnpike and see how it does in the truck lanes.

  2. Why 2-legged? by Grishnakh · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Honestly, this push for 2-legged robots seems pretty silly, and the only reason it's done is because they look more like us. A 4-legged or even 6-legged robot would make far more sense. 4 legs are much more stable than 2, and easier to walk on. If pickup up and handling objects is a concern, then 6 legs is a good alternative. Many insects work this way, after all. Praying mantises are a good example: they have six legs, and use the front two for grasping. For extra stability on rough terrain (which certainly describes the moon), the front legs can be dual-purpose, used for both walking about grasping.

    1. Re:Why 2-legged? by BJ_Covert_Action · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Or, you know, they could just use wheels like other, very successful robotic explorers....Legs are complicated.

      --
      Motorcycles, Robots, Space Gossip and More!
    2. Re:Why 2-legged? by natehoy · · Score: 4, Funny

      So, waa-a-a-ait, you're saying four legs good, two legs baa-aa-aad?

      --
      "This post contains words, known to the State of California to cause thought. Wash brain thoroughly after reading."
    3. Re:Why 2-legged? by Grishnakh · · Score: 3, Funny

      If that's a concern, then 6-legged is a better way to go. That way, when the hostile aliens come to earth looking for whoever sent the 6-legged robots, they'll attack the insects first, thinking they're the more intelligent species that built everything, and that the humans are just some dumb animals they use as beasts of burden. I don't think there's any insects that are endangered, so we can stand to lose some of them.

    4. Re:Why 2-legged? by Monkeedude1212 · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Honestly, this push for 2-legged robots seems pretty silly, and the only reason it's done is because they look more like us.

      Its not just because they LOOK more like us - you basically demonstrated half the reasons in your post. They move like us, they have to handle the same stresses as us. Agreed - the human form is not the most efficient for gathering materials or effective travelling on harsh ground. However, we can learn what traveling on the ground would be like for a human WITHOUT sending a human, and thats why you would send a humanoid robot.

      It's job is to be drawing the Japanese Flag on the moon. Which, in case you haven't noticed, looks a lot like a crater, so its not like the moon isn't already covered in Japanese flags. This mission is not going to be so much about efficient robotics as it is about getting people into the idea of space travel.

    5. Re:Why 2-legged? by John+Hasler · · Score: 3, Insightful

      > Have you ever seen someone try to take a wheeled vehicle on one of the
      > hiking trails in the Grand Canyon?

      Have you ever seen someone try to take a humanoid robot on one of the
      hiking trails in the Grand Canyon?

      --
      Warning: this article may contain humor, sarcasm, parody, and perhaps even irony. Read at your own risk.
    6. Re:Why 2-legged? by Mindcontrolled · · Score: 4, Interesting

      All true, but when, if you get the humanoid robot right, it can't just use the vacuum cleaner, it can mop the floor, clean the toilet, cook dinner, change lightbulbs, and do basically everything needed in my household, whatever task is around. The roomba will still work great vacuuming the floor, but it'll sit pathetically in its corner, whining sadly while the humanoid bot outclasses him in every other task. I agree though, that we are not remotely at this point. Given that, it is little more than a publicity stunt to put a bipedal on the moon. That doesn't mean, however, that we should not continue researching humanoid robots - or, let me rephrase that, multipurpose robots able to use any tool you throw at them. The main problem is not the number of legs, heck, let it be quadruped - the main problem to solve is the dexterity. For true tool-using multipurpose robots, it would probably be best to give them highly dexterous hands and flexible arms. There's been a lot of success in that field lately - just look at this video.

      --
      Ubi solitudinem faciunt, pacem appellant.
    7. Re:Why 2-legged? by Nadaka · · Score: 3, Informative

      Not to discredit any of the very good points that you bring up...

      But there are some of the advantages of being bipedal:

      1: It weighs a lot less.

      2: there is a lot less drag.

      3: dynamic equalibrium allows faster turns.

      4: If you need a set of limbs for some new function (flight, carrying stuff), evolution is a lot more likely to work if you convert existing limbs instead of growing a whole new pair.

  3. Flag planting as proof of ownership or visitation by networkzombie · · Score: 5, Funny

    Flag planting by proxy? Will the robot then walk over to the U.S. flag and tear it down?

  4. What a Waste! by TomRC · · Score: 3, Interesting

    ... put a robot on the moon, then bring it home after drawing a flag.

    Why not have the robot do something semi-constructive? Maybe set up a solar mirror capable of melting lunar rocks. Or set up a drill to see if there are more volatile elements deeper beneath the surface? Or at LEAST give it lots of equipment to play with, and turn it over to their brainiest kids to "experiment with", inspiring their next generation.

    If they just want to demonstrate the capability to put a human on the moon and bring them home, have the robot load their return lander with moon rocks - at least that payload would have some value other than publicity, and the robot will have served a purpose.

  5. Re:Flag planting as proof of ownership or visitati by bugnuts · · Score: 4, Insightful

    The whole "draw a flag" thing I consider to be the same as vandals tagging walls.

    As long as it can only be seen with a really high-power telescope, I guess I don't care a lot. But it's still vandalism, and very distasteful.

    Imagine if corporations could simply buy moon advertisements.... We'd be seeing crap like [KRAFT CHEESE] and other crap. The original footprints from the astronauts are still there 50 years later.