Robot Astronaut

US scientists have created a robot that can work with humans in space.

The work of NASA and General Motors (GM) is seen as a breakthrough in robotics. The makers claim Robonaut2, or R2, is the 'smartest robot in the world'.

R2, designed to simulate human shape from the waist up, can be made in the same place, undertaking the same task, sometimes alongside the human. Robonaut2 is Robonaut's newest generation, built by NASA and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency of the United States Department of Defense to do the usual work of astronauts. R2 simulates human body, head, arms, arms and legs.

According to Doug Cooke, assistant director of the mission commission for NASA's probe systems in Washington, R2 can assist astronauts in dangerous missions using state-of-the- sensors and observations.

'This superior robot technology is very promising not only for NASA but for the United States,' he said. Meanwhile, Mike Coats, director of the Johnson Space Center in Houston, the maker of the robot, said devices like Robonaut 'would expand human exploration and development.'

GM is involved in manufacturing R2 under an agreement with the US government to promote the next generation of robots and robot technologies. The process of researching and manufacturing R2 lasts for 3 years. NASA and GM are researching a number of 'mobile solutions', such as the legs, for the robot, but future versions may move on wheels or may have only one leg.