Japan's 'Kirobo' Robot Astronaut Heads Into Space - PC Magazine

August 4, 2013 01:44pm EST Sorry, Pixar fans – the first "robot astronaut" heading into space isn't going to be WALL-E. And its super-small size would really emphasize the "one small step for robots" bit if Japan's Kirobo robot actually had any intention of getting out and walking on some celestial objects. Kirobo blasted off into space early this morning (Japan-time), booking passage on an unmanned Kounotori 4 Transfer Vehicle (HTV4) alongside 3.5 tons of supplies, food, and equipment bound for the International Space Station. The 13.4-inch-tall robot was created as part of the "Kibo Robot Project" at the University of Tokyo's Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology. Kirobo, whose name was created by mashing together the Japanese word for hope, "kibo," with the word "robot," will be able to use voice-recognition technology, natural-language processing, and facial recognition to speak with both astronauts in space and researchers back on Earth. Not only will Kirobo record the conversations it has with Japanese astronaut Koichi Wakata (once the latter arrives at the space station toward the end of this year), but it'll also help shuttle messages from the flight control room to the astronaut. The robot's other goal, reports the BBC, is to see if it can become an emotional anchor of-sorts for "people isolated over long periods." "I wish for this robot to function as a mediator between a person and machine, or a person and the Internet, and sometimes even between people," said robot developer Tomotaka Takahashi, in an interview with the BBC. Of course, it's not as easy as it sounds for a robot to become an astronaut. Researchers had to subject Kirobo to a number of different tests to determine whether the robot would be suitable for its weightless mission, including thermal analysis testing, electromagnetic compatibility testing, and a test to determine whether the general background noise on board the Internal Space Station might otherwise interfere with the robot's voice-recognition capabilities. A second robot created by the Kibo Robot Project, "Mirata," will remain on the ground in case any issues with Kirobo need to be dealt with from afar. Kirobo's schedule for returning to Earth has the robot-turned-astronaut heading back down to the planet in December of next year – likely via a less-than-exciting cargo shuttle instead of, say, blasting to Earth like the Destroyer from Thor. via Science - Google News http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&fd=R&usg=AFQjCNGFih2WcQiaA37Zj3ZNO2-ah5_qgw&url=http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2422693,00.asp

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