Will humanoids take over for astronauts in space exploration
Washington, May 9 ANI: Humanoid robots could soon be the next generation of explorers to walk on the moon or Mars. They may perform similar scientific tasks to astronauts, but wouldn't require any of the life support equipment, food or shelter and can last for decades. Humanoid robots could make deep space exploration more feasible. As NASA prepares for Endeavour's last mission, and the final shuttle flight ever by Atlantis in June, space experts are starting to wonder if NASA should rethink its mission. The most advanced humanoid ever created is already in space aboard the International Space Station, after all-just waiting for instructions and the green "go" light from NASA. Launched on the Discovery space shuttle in February, Robonaut 2 or R2 is still in parts; only his torso is in space, said Marty Linn, the GM project manager for R2. A future mission will bring the rest of his body. "It currently takes hours for an astronaut to prepare for a spacewalk. But it's conceivable that a robot could go outside the capsule at a moment's notice," FoxNews quoted Linn as saying. "We plan to develop the technology to the point that the next R2 will be able to work outside the capsule," he added. R2 has incredible dexterity. The bot can move its hands in 12 directions, twist arms and wrists in seven ways, and uses 54 servo motors. Touch sensitive cells embedded into each hand can sense weight and pressure. GM designed a unique torsional spring to control fine motor movements. The bot has a human-like head with a dark visor-it's partly to help astronauts relate to the humanoid as another team member but also has a practical purpose: a technician can control the robot using a video relay: Each movement the human controller makes is replicated by the robot. The advantages to using humanoids are clear, but NASA argues that humanoids will always play second fiddle to real humans in space and only enhance our own exploratory missions. ANI
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