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Robonaut To Escort On Space Shuttle Mission
An anonymous reader writes "The STS-133 crew will deliver robot Robonaut 2 (R2) to the International Space Station. Cocooned inside an aluminum frame and foam blocks cut out to its shape, R2 is heading to the station inside the Permanent Multipurpose Module in space shuttle Discovery's payload bay. R2, with its humanlike hands and arms and stereo vision, is expected to perform some of the repetitive or more mundane functions inside the orbiting laboratory to free astronauts for more complicated tasks and experiments."
R2.. is that you?
Nope, that would be R2+D2, what you meant is subtract it, sheesh, news for nerds.
Just as long as they don't start staffing their shuttles with bending units!
seriously, why are humans (who need food, rest, air, copious exercise and a million dollar toilet) still our primary means of getting work done in space?
R2 looks like the upper torso of a sculpted bodybuilder...
I'll be back. Fuck you asshole. Hasta la vista, baby.
Does it have a giant red LED and talk in a very calm, soothing voice?
R2, with its humanlike hands and arms and stereo vision, is expected to perform some of the repetitive or more mundane functions inside the orbiting laboratory...
The PETR activists are gonna have a field day with this one...
... he doesn't fart.
I'm sorry, Dave. I'm afraid I can't do that.
In before LucasFilm sues their asses off.
And from the looks of the thing, Bungie/Microsoft may want to take a shot, too.
Edith Keeler Must Die
You can follow its adventures on twitter: @AstroRobonaut
For those cold, lonely nights on the ISS.
Next they'll ruin R2 by making him fly with tiny rockets.
*DrugCheese rants*
With all the power of the internets, the article can't give us more than a thumbnail of this robot. You want some real robot pron, go to engadget: http://www.engadget.com/photos/nasa-and-gms-robonaut2/2677799/#2677802
The gold visored helmet. WANT
Pumping IRON: http://www.engadget.com/photos/nasa-and-gms-robonaut2/2677799/#2677804
Bishop?
Today we not only have touchy-feely user interfaces, we also have escort service to the International Space Station
Immediate (FTO) NASA - Space Station Droid
Must be able to perform repetivite, mundane tasks while freeing humans to do more complicated tasks.
Droid must be:
- capable of surviving in-space jettisons
- able to store/deliver distress messages
- provide and manage combat and technical information in high-stress situations (eg: raids, combat)
- able to rescue and repair C-3P0 units
- capable of overriding security systems (in-depth knowledge of Vader Death Systems LLC a plus)
- able to maintain and troubleshoot Falcon Inc. systems (esp. Hyperdrive apparati)
boycott slashdot February 10th - 17th check out: altSlashdot.org
... repetitive or more mundane functions inside the orbiting laboratory...
As a layman, I'd think the more troublesome tasks on the ISS involved the hassle of getting into an EVA suit for activities outside the space station. In which case the bulky pressure suit and heavy gloves are likely to give an astronaut no better manual dexterity than what could be provided by a robotic waldo. So wouldn't it be smarter to have the robot on an armature external to the station? Or is this just considered a testing phase to make sure that such robot is reliable and flexible enough before putting it on the more appropriate outside work duty?
And whatever happened to the Boba-Fett look of the previous prototype? I thought that was cool.
I saw an article on Boing Boing about a month ago telling about this guy being sent to the moon in 2013 with Armadillo Aerospace providing the lander. I was surprised I never saw anything on /. covering the clip.
http://boingboing.net/2010/07/08/nasa-robonauts-on-mo.html
If you added a 'D2' onto the name, you'd have R2-D2. There, I said it. Now nobody else can make lame puns.
Nope, that would be R2+D2, what you meant is subtract it, sheesh, news for nerds.
AC was proven wrong yet again!
It's cool and all, but did they seriously need to gold plate the thing?
that robot has a gun! we're totally screwed!
It breaks my pluginses, my precious!
As an oldish (40+) programmer who's only recently got into robotics (the simple stuff - arduino, sparkfun, xbee, khr3-hv), coding the control software to make a robot actually do stuff is way more challenging than the supposedly complex projects I work at on my day job. Programming a robot kit to walk or pull poses is simple enough, but coding 'any form of 'intelligent' decision making ends up with lines and lines of code and as many sensors you can sensibly add to the hardware.
I thought it would be pretty simple to build and code a robot cleaner - like a basic remote control car that just drives around the house with a duster underneath which heads back home when the batteries are running low and recharges. Clearly the challenge of climbing the stairs can move to the version 2 release, but if I stick it on the first floor, just stopping it falling down the stairs needs around five sensors and over 500 lines of code.
Two cameras for 3D spatial awareness? Try coding it to tell the difference between and apple and an orange. Built in GPS to get an absolute position reference? Even if you get a signal, 5 meter accuracy doesn't help much when you are driving it towards a lift shaft.
That's why I love this stuff.
It's a Waldo, not a robot.
...it's C3PO.
And we're going to dodge Arthur C Clarke's prediction of disaster on this mission by doing the EXACT opposite. When the Robonaut asks, Open the payload bay doors, WE get to say "No, that is soooo not going to happen. We know exactly what you're up to."
For God's sake not a single "robotic overlord" post yet ? It's a fucking ROBOT. IN SPACE !!11!one =P
while (true != false) process_more_stupid_code();
i had a bad feeling when i read the summary, but when I saw the picture of the thing it became very clear what is going to happen. I've seen enough sci-fi to know that thing is definitely going to turn on the crew when it gets up there. It will probably sample everyone's voices and for years it will provide radio communication and no one will realize that astronaut and cosmonaut corpses are circling the earth. Then it will watch from above as it figures out ways to manipulate government intelligence and pits America against the former USSR until both countries are annihilated.
ôó
Now that's an expensive escort service...
This sounds like the plot for a cheesy sci-fi/horror movie. OH GOD IT'S NOT SUPPOSED TO DO THAT!!
> to free astronauts for more complicated tasks
> and experiments
I look forward to even lusher crops of cress grown on flannels.
When the "success" of the ISS is quoted in terms of the number of EVAs completed in 11 years just to keep the station operational, one suspects that cress is the pinnacle of its scientific contribution.