ISS ASTRONAUTS to be kept company by doll-like humanoid. This will end in tears.
In my mind, this story can only end in one of two ways. Either this little robot becomes sentient, and slaughters everyone in the ISS. Or someone falls in love with it, filling its nooks and crannies with their biological data. I can’t be the only one who feels this way, right?
I Heart Chaos:
There’s already been one humanoid robot deployed to the International Space Station, but it’s goal has been research. When Japanese astronaut Koichi Wakata arrives in 2016, he’ll be bringing along a small robot not as much as a helper but as a little robot friend.
A consortium of companies is constructing two doll-like robots that speak Japanese, recognize faces and perform simple experiment tasks. One will fly to the space station next year, while the other will stay on the ground as a backup.
The humanoid robot will live in the station’s Japanese Kibo module. It doesn’t even have a name yet, but the public is being asked for suggestions on a Japanese website.