NASA To Launch GM Co-Developed Human-Like Robot To ISS
NASA will launch the first human-like robot to space later
this year to become a permanent resident of the International Space
Station. Robonaut 2, or "R2", was developed jointly by NASA and
General Motors under a cooperative agreement to develop a robotic
assistant that can work alongside humans, whether they be
astronauts in space or workers at GM manufacturing plants on
Earth.
The 300-pound R2 consists of a head and a torso with two arms
and two hands and will launch on space shuttle Discovery as part of
the STS-133 mission planned for September. Once aboard the station,
engineers will monitor how the robot operates in weightlessness. R2
joins another station robot, known as Dextre. That robot, built by
the Canadian Space Agency, consists of two, long arms to perform
tasks that normally require spacewalking astronauts to
complete.
While Dextre is located on the station's exterior, R2 will be
confined to operations in the station's Destiny laboratory.
However, future enhancements could allow it to move more freely
around the station's interior, and it could one day be modified to
operate outside the complex.
"The use of R2 on the space station is just the beginning of a
quickening pace between human and robotic exploration of space,"
said John Olson, director of NASA's Exploration Systems Integration
Office. "The partnership of humans and robots will be critical to
opening up the solar system and will allow us to go farther and
achieve more than we can probably even imagine today."
The dexterous humanoid robot not only looks like a human, it is
designed to work like one. With human-like hands and arms, R2 is
able to use the same tools that station crew members use. In the
future, the greatest benefit of humanoid robots in space may be as
an assistant or stand-in for astronauts during spacewalks or for
tasks too difficult or dangerous for humans. For now, R2 is still a
prototype and lacks adequate protection needed to exist outside the
space station in the extreme temperatures of space.
Testing the robot inside the station will provide an important
intermediate environment. R2 will be tested in zero gravity, as
well as being subjected to the station's radiation and
electromagnetic interference environments. The interior operations
will provide performance data on how a robot may work side-by-side
with astronauts. As development activities progress on the ground,
station crews may be provided hardware and software to update R2 to
allow it to do new tasks.
R2 is undergoing extensive testing in preparation for its
flight. Vibration, vacuum and radiation testing along with other
procedures being conducted on R2 also benefit the team at GM. The
automaker plans to use technologies from R2 in future advanced
vehicle safety systems and manufacturing plant applications.
"The extreme levels of testing R2 has undergone as it prepares
to venture to the International Space Station are on par with the
validation our vehicles and components go through on the path to
production," said Alan Taub, vice president of GM's global research
and development. "The work done by GM and NASA engineers also will
help us validate manufacturing technologies that will improve the
health and safety of our GM team members at our manufacturing
plants throughout the world."
"Partnerships between organizations such as GM and NASA help
ensure space exploration, road travel and manufacturing can become
even safer in the future," Taub said.
GM's manufacturing engineering team is already working to
identify potential applications for R2's array of vision, motion
and sensor technologies that will assist workers in manufacturing
operations.
"Our strategy is to develop technologies that can fundamentally
change the way we manufacture cars and trucks," said Kenneth D.
Knight, executive director GM Manufacturing Assembly &
Automation Center. "This includes a focus on developing ways to
further support our operators."