Extra-clever hands set Robonaut apart
The upcoming sci-fi flick I, Robot portrays robots as dangerous subversives. In reality, of course, the reverse has been true up to now. Some, such as Kismet the MIT babe, bat their eyelashes at cooing admirers. Others - so-called artbots - paint (after a fashion) and make music that suggests a vacuum cleaner being strangled by its own cord. Others play soccer and basketball, without much hope, however, of ever being selected to play for the Harlem Globetrotters.
The cynic could be forgiven for thinking robots are just an extension of the toy industry, that they are another way to make us feel warm and fuzzy or that they serve as a distraction while the world falls apart. But every now and then a robot comes along that can do something useful or impressive, even both.
Meet Robonaut, one of Nasa's coolest contraptions, blessed with a humanoid shape, a sexy name and a mission. Conceived in the mid-1990s, Robonaut is based on earlier anthropomorphic robotics initiatives conducted by Nasa.
'The concept came out of Nasa's desire to develop capabilities that can reduce the maintenance workload on astronauts and thereby allow more time for science,' said Ron Diftler, Robonaut deputy project manager.
So how does it work? In a nutshell, the robot has three operational modes: Autonomy, Teleoperation and Shared Control. The first means that Robonaut executes a task without human intervention ('for example, finding a tool using vision and touch feedback').
During Teleoperation, Robonaut's arms, hands, fingers, neck and body track the motion of a human operator in 'a very intuitive' manner through the use of virtual reality gear. Under Shared Control, by contrast, Robonaut relies heavily on the operator to guide it.
One of the biggest advantages the robot has over the fit, fiercely brainy but fallible individuals who man space missions is its indefatigability. Robonaut never tires when holding one position, 'an excellent quality', stresses Dr Diftler, who adds that the device 'can maintain a force more accurately than a human'.
He believes that Robonaut has the best hands of any robot on the planet. So just how adept is it? For example, could it catch a baseball, wield chopsticks, even thread a needle? Dr Diftler described Robonaut's hands as 'highly dexterous'. It can manipulate many of the same tools used by astronauts.
'Space work tends to be done slowly and meticulously, so Nasa researchers have not emphasised the kind of speed needed to catch a baseball.'
Chopsticks have not been tried, but 'tweezers have, which is probably pretty close', he said. Robonaut could thread a needle, he claimed.
On whether the robot can grasp concepts as deftly as it grasps objects, Dr Diftler said the automaton was constantly gaining skills which could be applied to a variety of tasks. Like a voraciously curious child, it grows smarter every day.
Some artificial intelligence researchers, such as Jordan Pollack at Brandeis University in Massachusetts, argue that, when it comes to programming robots, man is still a long way behind Mother Nature. Dr Diftler agreed she was 'very impressive'.
Endowing the robot with high 'intelligence' was an 'exceptional challenge', he said. The input of scientists brought the best of two worlds: 'The resourcefulness of the human mind, and the durability and flexibility of a dexterous robot.'
Robonaut is standing by for its first mission, which Nasa hopes will be soon. Some analysts say the ultimate aim is to prevent a Columbia-style horror by replacing astronauts with similar machines. 'It is designed to help and not replace humans,' Mr Diftler said.