These New Robots Are Going to Take Over Space

"I'm sorry Dave, I'm afraid I can't do that," rings as a warning to mankind when we yield too much power to machines. HAL, the tyrannical computer in Stanley Kubrick's movie, 2001: A Space Odyssey, was cleverly a one-letter shift from IBM. Fast-forward 50 years, and NASA's researchers are working with IBM to develop a Watson system that could serve as a flight operations advisor (soundsfamiliar?). According to Rob High, chief technical officer for IBM Watson, over the next five to 10 years, cognitive computing systems like Watson will "be the dominant form of computing," especially for NASA's flight command centers. Watson will not be alone on its mission because NASA is building an arsenal of robots in advance of human explorers to colonize MARS. This month, DARPA will put its robot crew through a series of rigorous tests.