Back in 2018, floating computer dubbed CIMON (Crew Interactive MObile companioN) gathered enough fame after its interactions with German astronaut and geophysicist with the European Space Agency, Alexander Gerst. Currently, it received a new and enhanced upgrade, which launched into orbit later this week. It will also join the International Space Station team soon and help astronauts.
Advanced-space travel will require a human crew to resist significant stress periods, and researchers with the DLR Space Administration intended to find out if CIMON could solve a Rubik’s cube. They also wanted to see if CIMON could help with some experiments and even enhance crew spirit. Unfortunately, CIMON’s first travel demonstrated there are still some issues to work out.
CIMON-2 – The New AI Space Robot
The new variant brings more orientation and is showing more empathy, officials said. Till Eisenberg, Airbus’ project manager for CIMON, explained: “CIMON-2 has more sensitive microphones and a more advanced sense of orientation. The AI capabilities and stability of the complex software applications have also been substantially improved.” So, CIMON-2 could make missions a bit more efficient on the space station, helping with various instructions for repairs, research experiments, and giving voice-controlled admittance to reference stuff.
CIMON-2, however, isn’t the only one hoping to posses extend future in space. NASA, for example, is working with a more flexible, silicone-made robots for “dangerous, dirty, or dull” missions in space, such as creating a rudimentary area to secure astronauts during a martian dust storm. Moreover, NASA’s LEMUR robots could serve as lunar pack mules in the future. It’s probably not too hard to forget robots have realized the bulk of space research up to this point. They even send selfies from the Red Planet. So, when the first human landing onto Mars, there’s a high chance they’ll be sharing the spotlight with a robot pal.
As our second lead editor, Anna C. Mackinno provides guidance on the stories Great Lakes Ledger reporters cover. She has been instrumental in making sure the content on the site is clear and accurate for our readers. If you see a particularly clever title, you can likely thank Anna. Anna received a BA and and MA from Fordham University.