A SENIOR NASA official has promised to deliver a spaceship that will travel between alien worlds “within a few years”. Speaking at a conference in San Francisco on Saturday, NASA Ames director Simon Worden said his division had started a project with Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency called the “Hundred Year Starship”. The project was [...]

NASA may be facing some serious budgetary cuts on many of their projects, but their Robonaut program in partnership with General Motors is going strong 10 years after the first robot was built. The second generation Robonaut 2 humanoid robot designed for assisting astronauts in space was recently revealed to the public and I have to admit that it looks great.

Robonaut is only half a humanoid robot because it does not have legs; however, it is blessed with a state-of-the-art upper body including a pair of powerful arms and dexterous hands (both are nicely demonstrated in the video at the end of this article.) Even though the first generation robot was the results of a partnership between NASA and DARPA, the latest prototype is the result of a collaboration between NASA and GM; the latter hope that by contributing to this program they will be able to develop technologies that can help make driving and operating a manufacturing plant safer.

We don't know of much about  the technical details of the new robot. All we know is that NASA envisions robots like this working next to human astronauts in space. The first generation Robonaut was designed for remote controled use; it is not clear if the new robot can function autonomously. In the below video researchers from NASA and GM introduce Robonaut 2.



[source NASA]

Japan announced the other day that they are creating a roadmap for sending humanoid robots to the Moon a a first step towards human-robot space exploration. The current roadmap as announced by Japan's Strategic Headquarters for Space Development includes sending the first humanoids to explore the Earth's natural satellite by 2020. This is only 11 years from now which makes Japan's project a very bold one. Humanoid robots can hardly navigate man-made environments with lots of structure on Earth, it is hard to believe that in the next decade robotics technology will advance so far that such robot astronauts will be possible.

I am not saying that bipedal robots will never be constructed and possibly become a major component of space missions. What I am saying is that I don't think this is going to happen by 2020. NASA has had a space robotics program for ever and the most advanced and reliable robots that they have been able to send to other planets, namely Mars, have all been wheeled rovers.

The next generation planetary explorers that NASA is preparing are also of the same kind albeit much larger and more mobile than the current and past generations. The ATHLETE rover for example is under heavy development as a future platform for exploring the Lunar surface and it's design makes much more sense than a bipedal machine. Also, don't forget about Google's Lunar X Prize which is an effort to encourage private industry to construct and send a small exploration rover to the Moon as cheaply and as quickly as possible.

At the end of the day, a rover has higher mobility, can carry a larger payload (instruments, batteries, solar panels) and can reliably navigate terrain of all kinds. To expect a bipedal robot to have such capabilities in a decade requires much ambition and lots of engineering breakthroughs.

I have a feeling that Japan is aiming for publicity more than practicality in space robotics. They have now scrapped plans for their manned space program and they have yet to start the construction of their Lunar lander. They believe it will take another 2 years before they figure out all the details regarding the announced robotics mission to the Moon. Maybe they are trying to get the media to talk about their robotics project and ignore that at the same time they announced plans for the construction and deployment of military satellites. Finally, Japan is also planning to create robotics technologies to help cleanup some of the debris floating in orbit around the Earth. This space garbage poses a huge hazard to satellites, the International Space Station, and any other man-made object that is sent into space.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – The moon could become a final resting place for some of mankind thanks to a commercial service that hopes to send human ashes to the lunar surface on robotic landers, the company said on Thursday. Celestis, Inc., a company that pioneered the sending of cremated remains into suborbital space on rockets, said [...]

Wouldn't be cool if you could own your own replica of the Lost in Space B-9 robot? It sure would be. Many of us have dreamed of having a robot like the B-9 since we first watched the legendary TV show back in the 60s (okay, I was not born until 1975 so I only saw the robot in reruns much later but it makes little difference.) But alas, modern science has yet to fulfill our dreams. So, how about we just settle for an exact replica of the TV-show robot.

Hammacher Schlemmer offers an exact and genuine replica of the Lost in Space B-9 robot for anyone to own. This robot is so cool that other than being of the correct size, it can also peaks over 500 pre-recorded phrases including the ever so popular "Danger Will Robinson!"

Every detail of the original robot is faithfully reproduced from original archival molds, patterns and blueprints. It is made from fiberglass, acrylic, aluminum, and steel parts, including its rotating torso and radar head, flashing lights, animated ear sensors, and clawed arms. It can be operated using the included remote control, allowing you to move its torso left and right and activate the robots soil sampler (which comes out of its right tread housing and spins; the robot provides an audible environmental analysis thereafter).

Very, very cool. The only problem is the price. Unfortunately, to own your own copy of the Lost in Space B-9 Environmental Control Robot you will have to pay the very steep $24,500 price (which is only $24,497 Canadian for those living North of the border.)