First talking 'robot astronaut' to go into space - Telegraph.co.uk

Kirobo, whose name is derived from the Japanese words for "hope" and "robot", is the creation of a conglomeration of companies and scientists with the support of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). The end result is a small monochrome robot with large round eyes and red boots possessing an ability to converse in Japanese, shake hands, stand up on its own and adapt to a zero-gravity environment. On board the ISS, Kirobo will engage in the first human-robot conversation in space as part of an experiment in order to determine whether robots can potentially be of assistance to humans on missions by communicating directly with them. Unveiled by its creators late last month, the robot appeared before gathered media and declared: "This may look a small step, but it will be a big stride as a robot." Kirobo, whose missions will also include relaying messages from control rooms to astronauts, has a twin robot called Mirata who will remain grounded in Japan, monitoring any problems encountered in space. via Science - Google News http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&fd=R&usg=AFQjCNHDXkdTkqxYR9dCIVrp7moNDp8POg&url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/space/10220562/First-talking-robot-astronaut-to-go-into-space.html

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