Tag Archives: space station

Kirobo Talking Robot Headed into Space

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Kirobo is a 13-inch talking robot that will keep Japanese astronaut Kochi Wakata company on the International Space Station. He is now on his way to the ISS after being launched on an H-2B rocket from Japan.
Kirobo
Kirobo is the first talking robot to be sent into space. He’s a pretty adorable robot too. He was launched on board an unmanned spacecraft that’s scheduled to arrive at the ISS on August 9th. Along with the robot, the craft is also carrying drinking water, food, and other supplies.

Wakata will arrive at the ISS in November to take over as Commander. Kirobo will talk to Wakata and even keep a record of their conversations during the mission. Captain Kirk just has a captain’s log. Kirobo is so much neater.

Here’s some footage of the little guy being weighed, packed and shipped like so much space baggage:

If many more robots get into space, we will need to be careful they don’t build a death ray up there and kill us all.

[Kibo-Robo via Geekosystem]

Kibo the Robot is Going to Space

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If science fiction films are to be believed, when an astronaut needs company in space, a robot can be a good companion. In keeping with that idea, Kibo the robot will soon join the crew of the International Space Station. The robot will be sent up with Japanese astronaut Koichi Wakata and of course it will be able to speak to him in his own language.

kibo
The idea is that Kibo will keep everyone entertained by interacting with them and taking pictures and updating his Twitter account back on Earth. Like any astronaut, Kibo has undergone training. He recently practiced in zero gravity, as you can see in the video clip below.

The little robot stands 13.4 inches tall, weighs just 2.2 pounds, and boasts natural language processing technology from Toyota. He also has facial recognition software in his head.

The robot was designed by Tomotaka Takahashi who created Panasonic’s Mr. EVOLTA mascot. Hopefully he fits in on the space station and they have lots of fun.

[via Daily Mail]

Kibo the Robot is Going to Space

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If science fiction films are to be believed, when an astronaut needs company in space, a robot can be a good companion. In keeping with that idea, Kibo the robot will soon join the crew of the International Space Station. The robot will be sent up with Japanese astronaut Koichi Wakata and of course it will be able to speak to him in his own language.

kibo
The idea is that Kibo will keep everyone entertained by interacting with them and taking pictures and updating his Twitter account back on Earth. Like any astronaut, Kibo has undergone training. He recently practiced in zero gravity, as you can see in the video clip below.

The little robot stands 13.4 inches tall, weighs just 2.2 pounds, and boasts natural language processing technology from Toyota. He also has facial recognition software in his head.

The robot was designed by Tomotaka Takahashi who created Panasonic’s Mr. EVOLTA mascot. Hopefully he fits in on the space station and they have lots of fun.

[via Daily Mail]

NASA Plans to Turn Asteroid Into Space Station

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Here’s one bold plan from NASA – capturing an asteroid, relocating it and then turning it into a space station for astronauts to refuel at on their way to Mars.

The White House’s Office of Science and technology will consider the $2.6 billion plan in the coming weeks as it prepares to ...
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Long Distance Remote Control: Astronaut Plays with LEGO Robot from Space

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Space exploration. We like to pretend it is about all kinds of noble things having to do with mankind’s place in the universe, blah blah blah. We all know it is really about all the cool things that you can do while in space, right? You know, like control a robot on Earth. From Space.

lego space robot

Astronaut Sunita Williams used a specially developed laptop on the International Space Station to control an Internet-connected LEGO robot in Germany. That’s pretty awesome. The technology is called Disruption Tolerant Networking (DTN). It works like this: traditional Internet protocol standards assume that there will always be a route of connections available from node A to node B. However, DTN accepts that there will be disruptions in connectivity from where the signal is being sent to where it is supposed to be received.

iss

Aside from having a great time playing with a LEGO robot from space, there was a point to this. NASA sees an opportunity to one day use this technology to control robots on the surface of Mars or some other planet. That sure opens up many possibilities when it comes to exploring (and someday colonizing) other worlds. DTN has been tested for years, but not for robotics applications – for which it now looks promising.

[via Geek]


Alt-week 10.6.12: supercomputers on the moon, hear the Earth sing and the future of sports commentary

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Alt-week peels back the covers on some of the more curious sci-tech stories from the last seven days.

Altweek 10612 supercomputers on the moon, hear the Earth sing and the future of sports commentary

Normally we try to encourage you to join us around the warm alt-week campfire by teasing you about what diverse and exotic internet nuggets we have for you inside. Sadly, this week that's not the case. There's nothing for you here we're afraid. Not unless you like totally mind-blowing space videos, singing planets and AI / sports commentary-flavored cocktails, that is. Oh, you do? Well what do you know! Come on in... this is alt-week.

Continue reading Alt-week 10.6.12: supercomputers on the moon, hear the Earth sing and the future of sports commentary

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Alt-week 10.6.12: supercomputers on the moon, hear the Earth sing and the future of sports commentary originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 06 Oct 2012 17:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Chinese astronauts go hands-on, manually dock with orbiting module

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DNP Chinese astronauts go handson, manually dock with orbiting module

Looks like China continues to add to its space cred after recently joining the rarefied ranks of countries that have successfully docked craft in the final frontier. Fresh off from the recent joining of the Shenzhou 9 capsule with the Tiangong 1 orbiting module, China's three astronauts have now replicated the feat manually, according to the Washington Post . For the uninitiated, the first docking was done via remote control from the ground. The mission has had plenty of firsts for China so far, including the country's first female astronaut. It also serves as a precursor to establishing China's first permanent space station, a 60-ton facility that's about a sixth of the size of the International Space Station but is slightly bigger than NASA's old Skylab. 'Cause sometimes, you just gotta have your own space in space, you know?

[Image credit: Associated Press]

Chinese astronauts go hands-on, manually dock with orbiting module originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 24 Jun 2012 14:49:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Excalibur Almaz wants to offer the first private trip to the Moon — provided you’ve got £100 million

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Excalibur Almaz wants to offer the first private trip to the Moon provided you've got 100 million

Sir Richard Branson might want to look over his shoulder, since Virgin Galactic now has an even more ambitious rival. Britain-based Excalibur Almaz is planning no less than a trip to the Moon using reworked, Soviet-era Salyut space stations and Soyuz capsules as the vehicles for the multi-stage, 500,000-mile total voyage. Accordingly, no one will be living in the lap of luxury on the way there: there's just two habitation modules that will take three people each, and the six-month trip isn't going to leave much room for perks other than an isolated room in the event of a solar radiation blast. Not that there's as much of a rush given the efforts involved in making this look-but-don't-touch Moon orbit a reality. Anyone who travels needs to be in tip-top shape -- and the £100 million ($156 million) ticket will make Virgin's Spaceship Two rides seem downright frugal. Be sure to pack your gym shorts and a briefcase full of cash.

Excalibur Almaz wants to offer the first private trip to the Moon -- provided you've got £100 million originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 23 Jun 2012 06:15:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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China Successfully Completes First Manned Docking with Its Tiangong-1 Space Station Module

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Last week China was talking up its mission set to launch over the weekend to put a Shenzhou-9 spacecraft in orbit with three astronauts aboard to dock with its orbiting Tiangong-1 space station...

China conducts its first crewed spaceship docking, gives east Asia its place in space (updated)

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China docks its first crewed space capsule, gives southeast Asia its place in space

Believe it or not, the only countries to have docked a human-helmed spacecraft in the first 50 years of spaceflight were Russia and the US. That small community just got bigger, as China's Shenzhou-9 has successfully docked with the Tiangong-1 module put in orbit for just such a test. The link-up is being used for experiments in the short term, but it's a key step in a program that will ultimately lead to a full-fledged Chinese space station. On top the wider ambitions, the docking also marks a victory for gender-neutral space travel: Liu Yang, one of three crew members, is the country's first female spacefarer. China's space program has a long road ahead, but it's clear the International Space Station won't be alone for much longer.

Update: Yes, China more accurately covers east Asia, not just the southeast. Our apologies!

China conducts its first crewed spaceship docking, gives east Asia its place in space (updated) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 18 Jun 2012 12:42:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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