The new robot powered by artificial intelligence of the International Space Station is actually pretty cool

Introducing CIMON, a floating robot the size of a basketball that will serve as a companion and assistant to crew members on board of the International Space Station. Infused with artificial intelligence, the floating robot recalls HAL from 2001: A Space Odyssey but far less evil. We hope.

Earlier in the day, SpaceX successfully launched a recycled Falcon 9 rocket in Cape Canaveral, Florida, carrying approximately 6,000 pounds of cargo to the ISS. In addition to providing genetically identical mice, super-caffeinated coffee and other supplies, the CRS-15 Dragon capsule contains CIMON, the first interactive flying companion to participate in an ISS mission.

Once aboard, CIMON – shortcut for Crew Interactive MObile companion – will help the crew with its many activities. The purpose of this pilot project is to see if an artificially intelligent robot can improve the efficiency and morale of the crew during longer missions, including a possible mission to Mars. In addition, activities and tasks performed by ISS crew members are starting to get complicated, so an AI could help you. CIMON does not have arms or legs, so it can not help with physical tasks, but it has a language user interface, allowing crew members to communicate verbally with she. The robot can display repair instructions on its screen and even search for objects in the ISS. With a reduced workload, astronauts will have less stress and have more time to relax.

CIMON was built by Airbus under a contract awarded by the German Aerospace Center (DLR). It has 12 internal fans, which allows the robot to move in all directions because it floats in microgravity. The CIMON can move freely and perform rotational movements, for example by shaking the head in disapproval. CIMON 's language and understanding system is derived from IBM' s Watson Technology and responds to commands in English. CIMON costs less than $ 6 million to build and less than two years to develop

The pilot project will be led by DLR astronaut, Alexander Gerst, arrived on the ISS there is about a month. CIMON is already familiar with Gerst's face and voice, so the bot will work better with him, at least in the beginning. The German astronaut will use CIMON to see if the robot will increase its efficiency and effectiveness while it is working on various experiments.

Indeed, with CIMON floating nearby, ISS astronauts could easily call the bot for help, which they can do by shouting his name. They can request that CIMON display documents and media in their field of view, or record and read experiments with their onboard camera. In general, the bot should speed up tasks on the ISS that require hands-on work.

The round robot does not have sharp edges, so it does not pose a threat to the equipment or the crew. Should he start going to squirrel and use his best imitation HAL-9000 to say something like, "I'm sorry, Alexander, I'm afraid I can not do that," the robot is equipped with the same. a switch off. But I hope it will not come to that; Unlike HAL, CIMON has been programmed with an ISTJ personality, which means "introverted, feel, think and judge". Its developers have chosen a face to make it more enjoyable and more relatable, and can even feel the tone of the crew conversation. CIMON smiles when the mood is upbeat, and frowns or cries when things are sad. It behaves supposedly as R2D2, and may even cite famous science fiction movies as AND the alien

CIMON has an open invitation to stay aboard the ISS, and he will probably improve for the duration of his stay, receiving software updates via the IBM Cloud.

Hmmm, it's a good thing to have this kill switch.

[NASA, DLR, AP]