JOHNSON SPACE CENTER — Another crew member will join astronauts at the International Space Station in November, but this helper isn’t human.
Robonaut 2, the most advanced humanlike robot, for the first time will launch into space on the next shuttle mission in November.
Astronauts will test the robot, also called R2, to determine whether it can help crew perform simple tasks aboard the space station.
NASA eventually would like R2 to help with repair work done during spacewalks, a risky job for astronauts.
A team of NASA engineers at the Johnson Space Center partnered with General Motors Corp. to create R2.
GM already had worked on developing a humanoid robot that could perform difficult functions on assembly lines at the company’s manufacturing plants, Marty Linn, the company’s principal engineer of robotics, said.
R2 resembles the torso, arms, hands and head of a human. Scientists fine-tuned the robot for about three years to improve the dexterity of its hands and fingers.
The robot’s movements aren’t as precise as a human’s, but it is significantly better than any other machine, Linn said.
"Human dexterity is really amazing," Linn said. "You don’t realize how incredible our digits are to do various tasks, but the robot is significantly more advanced than anything I’ve ever seen."
Astronauts will observe how R2 fares in space’s microgravity environment and test its use for basic tasks.
Engineers undertook the daunting task of constraining the robot to the size of a human in order for it to work with the same tools astronauts use, Ron Diftler, NASA’s project lead for R2, said.
"In space, there’s a lot of setup of tools and equipment before a task begins," he said. "If a robot can perform that task, it allows the crew person to be much more efficient in things that only a crew person can do."
Technology developed for R2 will help GM engineers develop advanced vehicle safety systems that will be used in future automobiles, Linn said.
NASA and GM will continue fine-tuning future prototypes of the robot.
Engineers have shipped R2 to Florida’s Kennedy Space Center, where it is packed in a module of the space shuttle ready for launch. R2’s support team will provide Twitter updates from the ground and the space station, where the robot will remain permanently.
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