Commodores Robot Cousin

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Commodore’s robot cousin
By Paul GoverHerald Sun19 April 2010 will blast into space in September as a passenger on the Discovery shuttle before becoming a permanent resident on the space station.
Robonaut 2 is part of the same General Motors family as the Australian showroom favourite...

... but only a very distant relative, as well as the newest hero for a company clawing its way back from bankruptcy in the USA. It has been developed in partnership with NASA and its humanoid design means it will work in much the same way as people on the International Space Station.

The only difference is that Robonaut 2 has no real body just a 'chest' as a powerpack, with a 'head' for computer controls and 'arms' and 'hands' to use a range of space tools. The new GM robot is the latest humanoid worker produced by the car industry, which has used production line robots for more than a generation but is also investigating the sales potential for machines which can take over hard work from people.

Honda is into the third generation of its Asimo robot family, which looks like a toy but is being developed for home help and as a nursing assistant in hospitals, while Toyota even developed a robot marching band -- with one machine which can play a trumpet -- during its work in the field.

last into space in September as a passenger on the Discovery shuttle before becoming a permanent resident on the space station. "The use of R2 on the space station is just the beginning of a quickening pace between human and robotic exploration of space," John Olson, director of NASA's Exploration Systems Integration Office, said.

"The partnership of humans and robots will be critical to opening up the solar system and will allow us to go farther and achieve more than we can probably even imagine today." No-one will say how much Robonaut 2 cost, but its job in space will be to work alongside people in the space station's laboratory.