India To Launch Android Into Space To Test Crewed Launch Capability (theregister.com) 20
India's Space Research Organisation (ISRO) will send a humanoid robot astronaut into this space this year, then send it back alongside actual humans in 2025 on its long-delayed Gaganyaan orbital mission. From a report: According to the space agency, the robot-crewed Vyommitra Mission is scheduled for the third quarter of this year. The robot -- whose name translates to "Space Friend" in Sanskrit -- can monitor module parameters, issue alerts and execute life support operations. Vyommitra is also an excellent multitasker that can operate six panels while responding to queries and mimicking human functions. The humanoid speaks two languages: Hindi and English.
It's also been designated as female -- to the extent possible for a legless robot -- and sports coiffed hair, feminine facial features, and hands that look like they are wearing white gloves. It resembles a wax figurine or mannequin and The Register fancies it mostly manages to stay out of the Uncanny Valley -- the term applied to robots and digital depictions of humans that try to appear human but instead come off as creepy and/or unsettling.
It's also been designated as female -- to the extent possible for a legless robot -- and sports coiffed hair, feminine facial features, and hands that look like they are wearing white gloves. It resembles a wax figurine or mannequin and The Register fancies it mostly manages to stay out of the Uncanny Valley -- the term applied to robots and digital depictions of humans that try to appear human but instead come off as creepy and/or unsettling.
Always works so well (Score:2)
What was the biggest security risk on the Enterprise D?
Data.
Re:Always works so well (Score:4, Informative)
Actually, more often than not, it was the holodeck.
Mostly because an episode set in Victorian England is cheaper to film than one with a lot of Sci-Fi FX.
Space Friend ... (Score:2)
Are you certain that it's not HAL?
Which space? (Score:2)
Female? (Score:2)
I think we all know where this is going.
Re: (Score:2)
Just be happy it's Indian and not Japanese. That would get really creepy really fast, I'm sure...
Re: (Score:2)
Just be happy it's Indian and not Japanese. That would get really creepy really fast, I'm sure...
Now with 50 percent longer tentacles!
Why human shaped? (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
I was asking myself... (Score:2)
... what was the purpose of sending a phone into space? Then I read the full description.
Re: (Score:2)
I was even more mystified because I first misread the title as "India To Launch Asteroid Into Space To Test Crude Launch Capability".
I guess coffee and reading glasses aren't getting the job done for me any more.
It Has Hands and No Legs? (Score:3)
Re: It Has Hands and No Legs? (Score:1)
I do residential IT... (Score:2)
And I have seen a lot of Androids that should be launched into space.
EU Also Planning Launch (Score:2)
EU plans to launch iPhones into space.
The device -- whose name "Siri" translates to "Walled Garden" in Sanskrit -- can monitor payment transactions, issue alerts and execute competitors. It's also been designated as female.
Why does it have long hair? (Score:2)
The photo shows it with shoulder-length hair, which in microgravity is a hazard for getting tangled in things like air vents or the robot's own hands. It could just as easily have been made with short hair, or no hair at all. Or is the newsreader look just for the publicity photos on Earth, and they'll swap the hair for something more practical before launch?