Robots are in the news a lot lately. From Google’s mysterious plans to do something vaguely roboti...

1. Android Astronaut Takes Off
Robots are in the news a lot lately. From Google’s mysterious plans to do something vaguely
robotic over the next ten years (we’re not allowed to know exactly what), to Amazon’s proposal
to build flying drones for international deliveries, it seems that the metal munchkins are everywhere,
but none are as cute, nor as interesting, as Kirobo.
Resembling a cross between a mid-90’s SNES protagonist and an overgrown Lego man, Kirobo
the robot stands at just 33CM tall (which is still positively gargantuan for a Lego man). His claim to
fame? Kirobo is the world’s first robot astronaut and is currently orbiting the Earth aboard the
International Space Station (ISS), where he has been since August of this year.
Kirobo was designed and built during a collaboration between an advertising company called
Dentsu, the University of Tokyo and car manufacturers Toyota. He was designed as a companion for
Japanese astronaut Koichi Wakata, who is perhaps best known as the first Japanese person to
command the ISS.
Kirobo’s creators hope that thehere will provide emotional support to Wakata, providing
interesting sociological data regarding whether robotic companions can comfort individuals who are
subjected to long periods of isolation.
Kirobo has been specially designed to navigate zero gravity environments, he can also speak and
understand spoken commands. In fact, Kirobo has many of the same properties as a smartphone in
that he can record video and make (very) long distance calls (although his high score on ‘Juice
Cubes’ is not yet a matter of public record). Kirobo’s facial recognition software means that he
can recognise and react to certain individuals (presumably empathizing with their moods).
In addition to being a cutting edge piece of technology, Kirobo also appears to be of a friendly
disposition, the little guy has already called us from space, saying, “My dream is to see human
beings and robots live together as friends,"
Kirobo also reportedly requested Wakata’s presence at the station, saying “I really want to see
you soon”, he’ll be waiting a long time, however, as Wakata is not due at the ISS for about
eleven months.
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