Watson Hops On Board Human Space Flight, IBM “CIMON is currently being developed by Airbus on behalf of the German Aerospace Center (DLR) as an intelligent, mobile and interactive astronaut assistance system. This new technology will be tested on the ISS as part of the Horizons mission of the European Space Agency. CIMON’s digital face, voice and use of artificial intelligence make it a “colleague” to the crew members. This […]

Notice of Centennial Challenges Space Robotics Challenge “The following virtual challenge scenario serves as a backdrop for developing coding advancements that enable the autonomy of humanoid robotics: In the not too distant future, R5 as arrived on Mars along with supplies ahead of a human mission. Overnight a dust storm damaged the habitat and solar array, and caused the primary communication antenna to become misaligned. R5 must now repair an […]

Keith’s note: NASA’s R5 robot can’t complete any of the tasks it was designed to do and placed last in DARPA’s challenge in 2013. So NASA sent the robot to two universities in 2015 to see if some students could fix it. NASA refuses to tell you how much this robot cost, why it was developed, or how it works. But before they sent their broken droids off to college […]

Keith’s note: On 17 November 2015 NASA issued a press release titled “NASA Awards Two Robots to University Groups for R&D Upgrades” regarding NASA JSC’s R-5 robot. At the time I asked “Is JSC’s R5 Droid Worth Fixing?“. I sent NASA PAO a simple request asking “How many applications/proposals were submitted? Which schools submitted proposals?” PAO replied “Thanks for reaching out to us. To answer your question, it’s not our […]

This week, @NASA gave MIT a humanoid robot to develop for future space missions. https://t.co/yHzmChXRpX pic.twitter.com/SEhj2JDC7d — MIT (@MIT) November 22, 2015 Without cables this #NASA robot falls over. Hopefully #MIT Students can fix what NASA can't. https://t.co/I5F9rFHy4U https://t.co/KYIdC40Gtf — NASA Watch (@NASAWatch) November 22, 2015 – Is JSC’s R5 Droid Worth Fixing?, previous post – NASA Awards Space Robot R&D Projects to MIT, Northeastern, TechNewsWorld – NASA wants to […]

NASA wants to make a C-3PO to help colonize Mars, which may not be a super idea, Wired “OK, but why use a bipedal robot at all? “We’re talking about sending robots to Mars, so is a walking robot best?” asks Keith Cowing, who runs the blog NASAWatch. “If you’re just landing in a flat area, why can’t it have treads and arms?” Or, if you want the dexterity that […]

Hosting of Humanoid Robots and Validation of Performance for The NASA Space Robotics Challenge Appendix “In 2012, NASA began the design and development of a new bipedal humanoid robot, R5, through the DRC. NASA seeks to advance innovation in basic and applied research and technology development for humanoid robots, like R5, with a focus on the performance of tasks related to space exploration missions. NASA seeks to advance space technology […]

What Happened to NASA’s Valkyrie Robot at the DRC Trials, and What’s Next, IEEE “At the DRC Trials, Valkyrie experienced a “networking issue” that prevented the team from scoring any points. In the garage before the DRC Trials began, everything worked fine. But on the course itself, the JSC Team “could not communicate with the robot at all.” They would later discover the culprit: a network traffic shaping tool that […]

JPL’s RoboSimian “Miami Speedway in Homestead, Fla., was the place to be late last month for an unusual two-day competition: the DARPA Robotics Challenge Trials. But if you went expecting high-octane cars zooming around the track at blazing speed, you might have been disappointed. The 16 robots participating in the challenge moved more like the tortoise than the hare, as they performed such tasks as opening doors or climbing a […]

Handicapping the 2013 DARPA Robotics Challenge, Gizmodo “NASA JSC Team Valkyrie (7/1): Johnson Space Center has a 20-year legacy in humanoid robot development, and the six-foot-two, 286 lb Valkyrie, “inspired by a female first responder wearing body armor” brings 44 degrees of American freedom to the fight. Team Valkyrie is playing the long game, claiming they’re focused on next year’s final challenge rather than victory today. Is it sandbagging? We’ll […]