Sunday Times 2
One small step for Kirobo, one giant leap for robotkind
The world’s first space conversation between a robot and an astronaut is set to take place later this year.
The talking robot called Kirobo – after ‘kibo’, which means hope in Japanese, and ‘robot’ – is set to join a Japanese astronaut into space in August.
Its developers have gathered in Tokyo to demonstrate the humanoid robot’s ability to talk and it has been answering questions from attending journalists.
The robot called Kirobo, pictured, will be sent to the International Space Station in August to communicate with astronauts stationed on the station for long periods of time
The experiment is a collaboration between advertising and PR company Dentsu, the Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology, the University of Tokyo, Robo Garage and Toyota Motor Corp.
‘Russia was the first to go outer space, the U.S. was the first to go to the moon, we want Japan to be the first to send a robot-astronaut to space that can communicate with humans,’ said Yorichika Nishijima, the Kirobo project manager.
Tomotaka Takahashi, CEO of Robo Garage and associate professor at the University of Tokyo, said he hopes robots like Kirobo that hold conversations will eventually be used to assist astronauts working in space.
‘When people think of robots in outer space, they tend to seek ones that do things physically,’ said Takahashi.
‘But I think there is something that could come from focusing on humanoid robots that focus on communication.’
Because Kirobo does not need to perform physical activities, it is smaller than most robots that go into space.
Kirobo is about 34 centimeters tall (13 inches) and weighs about 1 kilogram (2.2 pounds).
Its land-based counterpart Mirata looks almost identical but is not designed to go into outer space.
Instead, it has the ability to learn through the conversations it has.
During the demonstration, Fuminori Kataoka, project general manager from Toyota, asked Kirobo what its dream was.
‘I want to create a future where humans and robots can live together and get along,’ it answered.
Kirobo is scheduled to be launched from the Tanegashima Space Center on August 4, 2013.
© Daily Mail, London
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