CIMON the "flying brain" goes to the space station

By Lulu Chang

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SpaceX's mission in June to the International Space Station (ISS) included a new member of the 39, crew quite different. The name of the new addition is CIMON (pronounced Simon, and means Crew Interactive MObile companion) and it is sent to act as a mobile standalone support system. Still not sure? Think HAL 9000 in 2001: A Space Odyssey Moon 's s GERTY, and Holly in the BBC Red Dwarf .

And now, he has arrived. On Monday, July 2, the ISS received its first artificial intelligence robot, and as a bonus, berries, ice cream and brown mice. SpaceX's Dragon capsule arrived at the station three days after the launch of Cape Canaveral, Florida.

"We are waiting for very exciting weeks as we unload science and begin great experiments," reported astronaut Ricky Arnold Control after using a robotic arm to catch the Dragon.

Of course, the key to these experiments will be CIMON, which was developed by Airbus and the German space agency DLR, and powered by the Watson supercomputer of IBM. CIMON will be the first form of artificial intelligence to arrive on the space station, where it will help astronauts in their research work and will likely become their boyfriend.

CIMON is the size of a volleyball and has a built screen He can see, hear, speak and understand, and his AI intelligence means that the more he interacts with the crew members the more he will develop abilities.

Fourteen built-in fans will allow the 11-pound robot (5 kg) to float in any direction once inside the space. station. The quasi-spherical robot will be able to turn to an astronaut when he is spoken, as well as nodding and shaking his head during a conversation. He will even follow an astronaut independently or on command.

In addition to helping the crew, it is hoped that the presence of CIMON will provide researchers with an understanding of the pros and cons of having an A.I. assistant on board. "The space flight missions put a lot of stress and workload on the crew, and it is thought that AI Manfred Jaumann, responsible for Airbus microgravity payloads, described CIMON as" a kind of

Airbus hopes that CIMON will become a "true colleague" of astronauts during his stay at the space station.

"With CIMON, crew members can do more than just work through a schematic view of the prescribed checklists and procedures they can also engage with their assistant," Airbus said. "In this way, CIMON facilitates the work of astronauts in the performance of daily tasks, helps to increase efficiency, facilitates the success of missions and improves safety, because it can also serve as a system for training. early warning for technical problems. "

Current ISS astronaut, Alexander Gerst, will work with CIMON on three specific tasks, one of which is to perform a complex medical experiment in using the robot as a smart flying camera CIMON will also show detailed instructions on what to do to display text, images and videos on the screen.

But what about is it if CIMON eventually breaks down like HAL 9000, causing chaos on the space station? The German physicist at the space agency Christian Karrasch insists that there is nothing to worry about. "It's a friendly guy and he has that hard power off button."

With assurances like that, the six crew members must be very excited to meet CIMON. It will not be the first high-tech robot to visit the research laboratory in orbit. During its 20-year history, the ISS has also hosted Jakob's Kirobo, a floating camera called Int-Ball, and a humanoid robot named Robonaut.

Updated July 3: The Dragon capsule carrying CIMON was received by astronauts at the ISS.

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